Breaking the confinement
by anti-kk
Summary: Confined to prison for the assassination, Naruto is thrown into the very center of ruthless murderers, thieves and rapists. OOC characters; Itachi-x-Naruto
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor do I own PrisonBreak.

Summary: Confined to prison for the assassination, Naruto is thrown into the very center of ruthless murderers, thieves and rapists. OOC characters; Itachi-x-Naruto. Story is partly based on serial drama Prison Break.

Warnings: violence, abuse, slaughter, boy-x-boy relationship, … …

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Whispers'

"_Memories"_

* * *

'_**Breaking the confinement'**_

* * *

_**Prologue**_

12:11

"… …This judgment is final." The sound of the slammed gavel broke through the whole courtroom as the prisoner – Uzumaki Naruto – was confined _guilty_.

Shouts and numerous questions broke about in the room as reporters shot up from their seats while the members of the jury excused themselves and left the hall.

The chains clung as the convict rose up from his seat; his hands bonded close by heavy handcuffs connected to the chains on his feet.

"Take the wrench away." the judge said, eyes full with hatred as they bore into the composed nineteen year old young man.

Showing no faze for the radiating aura he was receiving, the blond turned around and let himself be led out of the courtroom by two officers.

Passing the front seat rows, he glanced to the right and met the eyes of his red-headed twin. Slowing down long enough to keep him in sight, the convict smiled to his purple eyed brother and mouthed out a few soundless words. 'It'll be fine, Kyuubi.'

The red-hair's eyes frowned as they watched his twin get shoved to move forward and out of his sight; though it was not far enough for him to miss the blond's next whispers as he looked at him over his shoulder and smirked, 'I'm gonna break through.'

An equal smirk spread on Kyuubi's own features.

…

20:03

Sighing at the sensation of cool water hitting his face, Naruto's eyes snapped open by a loud yell of a correctional officer, who barked out his orders as he urged the inmates to leave the showers and head in line to receive their prison uniforms.

Pulling on dark-blue pants with a white tank top and a light blue jacket, Naruto slipped into black shoes and headed back in line.

Staring at the inmates in disgust, the head correctional officer, Asuma Sarutobi, stepped forward and began laying out the rules of the prison.

Lowering his gaze, all Naruto heard were echoes of the officer's grumble as his mind fogged around himself.

"…_Stop fussing over a little scratch. The impact landed only on my shoulder. I'll live." _

"_You hasty fool, I told you to stay hidden…"_

"_Shut up! Hadn't I moved it would be your funeral that I'd go to right now. …?…?… What is it?"_

"_Shhh…They're here."_

"_Already? …AAh! Shit, watch it! What are you doing?"_

"_Taking you away."_

"…"

"_There…hide here! Now!"_

"_Fuck, stop pushing me, little brat!"_

"_Shut up! Be quiet!"_

"_Whoa…Stop! Where do you think you're going?"_

"_I'll distract them."_

"_What? Naruto, no! Get back here, right now!"_

"_Sorry, Kyuubi…"_

"Hey!"

Naruto snapped back to attention as a black-jack abruptly pressed underneath his chin and forced him to look up at the black clad officer. "Do I make myself clear?" hissed the head officer, clearly demanding respect.

Naruto's brows furrowed as he forced himself to speak for an unknown question, "Yes…_sir_."

Restraining the urge to hit him with the stack, the officer settled with a glare and stepped away.

"Alright. Let's sort them in."

…

21:45

Getting nearly shoved into his cell, Naruto glared pass his shoulder as the bars shut behind him and the officers growled,

"Face front, inmate!"

"Che…" scowling, Naruto turned away from them and chose the time to take a good look at his new 'home-room'.

The cell was small; bunk-beds were placed to his right with a pathetic excuse for a toilet and a sink situated near the cell's farthest corners. Near the beds stood a small table that contained a bible and a seemingly more than enough times used candle with a pack of cigarettes, a lighter and a simple digital-wristwatch.

Placing his night-garments and sheets on the bottom bed, Naruto skipped a quick glance at his seemingly deeply sleeping companion at the top bunk, and reached over to flip a few pages of the bible. He blinked as a little paper suddenly slipped through its middle and fell. Grabbing a blank square from the floor which had a neat handwriting on it that said _'Love you forever Shika!'_, he flipped it over and arch a brow as he stared at a photo of a beautiful long-haired blond girl being held by a smirking young-man.

"That's Ino. My girl." mumbled a lazy voice from the bed.

Turning quickly to the speaker, Naruto was met with sleepy half-lidded black eyes staring boringly at him from above.

Looking at the picture one more time, Naruto 'hm'-ed and placed it back where it came from and turned his attention fully to his cellmate he guessed now went by the name of Shika.

By the appearance, this man was everything that could describe the word 'slacker'. His dark-brown hair was tied into a high tail and, although his whole form was sprawled all other the bed like a lazy sack of potatoes, his body was rather well-built.

"Tsk, newbies are such a pain." sighing while mumbling to himself, the man reluctantly jumped off the bed and stretched before turning to Naruto. "So…what's your name, fish?"

Sizing the man up and down, Naruto frowned as he appeared slightly taller than himself. "It's Naruto."

"Hm… I'm Shikamaru." outstretching his hand, he shook the blond's tanned one that had a firm hold for someone as fragile-looking as him. "Sorry for the mess, if I knew I was going to host such a delicate girl-like-being, I _might_ have cleaned up this dump a bit." he thought in sarcasm, studying deep blue eyes and sunny, short, slightly-spiked blond hair gracing the gorgeous face.

"Not one of the willingly working types, are you?" scowling at the offence, Naruto still found a smirk, feeling a little more comfortable with the man's presence. "Seems that time in prison has made you just as lazy as a sack of garbage."

A thin brow rose up at the quick retort, but the man soon smirked as well and shrugged. "It's a pain but you don't see me complaining. There's nothing else to do here besides take your time."

"Aa…" grinning, Naruto set on the bottom bed while Shikamaru leaned against the wall in front of him.

"So…Naruto…, what did you do?"

Understanding that as 'what have you been charged for', Naruto turned his head to look out through the bars at the other inmates in their cells on the opposite side.

"Murder."

Shikamaru blinked and looked Naruto over once more, finding it hard to believe that this little creature could even harm an insect.

"What sentence?"

"Lifetime."

"And who did you murder so as to be confined in a place like this for such a long time?"

"Five members of the government." _'We screwed up on a sixth though.'_ silently Naruto thought to himself.

"However did you manage that?"

Looking back up at the man, Naruto searched his eyes before replying. "…I'm a sniper."

Shikamaru just stared till Naruto spoke again. "How 'bout you?"

"Thief. Been sentenced for five years. I have two more left."

Chuckling, Naruto looked at the bible. "Did you steal that girl over there?"

Huffing, Shikamaru crossed his arms just as one of the officers yelled, "Lights-out, ladies! It's time for bed!"

"You could say that. Although it's more of a retrieval thievery." grabbing onto the side of his bed, the lazy man pulled himself up. "She was mine from the beginning anyways."

"Hm…" asking nothing more since the man seemed reluctant to explain further, not to mention fall asleep _already_, Naruto pulled off his clothes and changed into nightwear.

…

02:21

Tossing and turning at irksome sounds of something scratching and grinding nonstop, Shikamaru groaned and looked at his watch. "The Hell!" Rolling over, he glared at his new inmate, who turned off the tap of the sink and shook down his wet hands.

Turning around, Naruto blinked as he spotted the awakened 'slacker'. "Oh, hi Shikamaru. You awake already?"

Gritting his teeth at him, Shikamaru hissed, "Weren't you making so much damn noise I might have still been asleep. For Christ's sake, it's past two in the fucking morning!"

A light glint shone in furrowed blue depths before they closed and Naruto reached out to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, grinning in a 'sorry' manner while climbing back under the sheets. "Wari-wari! I'll try to be quieter while taking a leak."

"Yea, I bet…" sighing, Shikamaru turned back on his side and mumbled something before he fell back to slumber.

Hearing him soon resume snoring, Naruto's eyes slowly opened and narrowed as they bored at the mattress hanging above him, looking as if gazing straight through it at his appearing 'obstacle' standing between him and his plans. Bringing up his hands, he stared at the cut and torn skin that 'adorned' them before turning his head further up and looking over the sink, where a loosely unscrewed screw hung by its lower side.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_No reason for a new story, just a sudden inspiration to write it;))  
__Later…_

_fish_ – a nickname for every new inmate who arrives in prison.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 1**_

* * *

08:15

"Alright, you youth filled bastards! Get your skinny/fat asses up!" a sudden yell walking right pass Naruto's cell, nearly made him fall off the bed. "You have ten minutes to cover your genitals before leaving the cells!"

Sighing, Naruto grabbed his clothes and quickly changed into them. Finished tying his shoes, he looked up just as a loud signal rang and all the doors in the prison were electrically opened.

Before he could even walk out, a tall black-haired officer stepped in and momentarily began pocking the still sleeping Shikamaru in his bed. "Mr. Nara! If you do not get up this instance to enjoy the sunny beams of this youthfully wonderful day, I'll have to bar you from your private visiting schedules with-…"

Grumbling and growling at the grinning officer wearing darkly-green uniform, which Naruto thought was rather tight and altogether weird-looking, Shikamaru quickly got up and began dressing.

"Now that's the spirit!" As soon as the strange officer left their cell, Naruto turned to his companion, who tried to get his boots on, and asked,

"Sunny beams of youthfully wonderful day…? That's kind a delusional."

"Aa… Don't be so surprised. You'll find many things in this place that outwork delusions." Stretching to his feet, the 'slacker' placed his hands in his pockets and walked out of the cell. "Come on. Since you're my new roommate, I might as well show you around this stupid place."

"Don't bother…" whispering under his breath, Naruto took out a long screw from out of his pocket and skipped a glance at the sink. _'I'm not here for long.'_

…

09:00

After some time of walking around and observing the green yard filled with all sorts of inmates whether sitting on the benches, working out or simply playing ball, Naruto began taking interest in the large prison itself – the so called _unbreakable wall_ of 'Konoha Prison'.

"What's over there?" he asked, nodding towards the separated part of the building.

"Infirmary." Lightning up a cigarette, Shikamaru nodded towards two approaching guys, while Naruto took his time looking at the large electrical wires connecting the top of building's secluded windows and walls.

"Hey man!" shaking hands with the Nara in habitually 'buddy' manner, a whitely-blue haired man and a pale-eyed brow-haired gave their quick questioning approaches as they looked at Naruto.

"Who's the Blondie?" Naruto's eye skipped a twitched at a familiar remark and he finally turned his attention to the two peers staring at him and his figure.

"My new roommate…," Taking a drug from his cigar, Shikamaru looked at Naruto and gestured towards his two friends, "These two bags are Neji and Suigetsu. Meet the acquaintance."

"'Hmph!' Man, you lazy fool always get the best luck in this dump!" jokingly whined the twenty-one year old Suigetsu before giving Naruto a fanged smirk. "What's your name, sexy-dove?"

Frowning, Naruto looked the man up and down. "…It's Naruto."

"Naruto, huh?" Neji's eyes ran over Naruto more absorbingly.

"Such a strange name for a boy…yet so very extraordinary." someone suddenly said from the side.

Catching Shikamaru's eyes harden in attitude, Naruto turned around and looked up at a pale silver-haired man walking over to them with a small company for the effect.

"What'd you want, Yakushi?" coldly asked Shikamaru.

"Easy Nara. Wouldn't want to start a fight out on a bright day now would we? Don't take it too personal but I have not came to chat with the likes of you," pushing round spectacles up his straight nose, the Yakushi looked back at Naruto and grinned. "…but to the 'purely unmarked' new crew member himself. I believe there is much to discuss, don't you…Mr. Uzumaki?"

Knitting his brows, Naruto looked the taller man in the eyes; unable to figure how he knew his surname. _'Who the Hell is this?'_

As if reading his mind, Suigetsu slung his arm over the blond's shoulders and said with a proud grin, "Naruto my love, meet Mr. Four-Eyes – Kabuto the bastard. The gatherer of info and garbage. Or simply known as a pathetic excuse for a _sordid rat_."

Some of the gang members behind the Yakushi growled and made a move to react but Kabuto simply pulled his hand up, halting them. "There is no need to dirty our hands with this leech." Turning his piercing gaze back at Naruto, Kabuto smirked, "Now then. As I was about to say: …Na-ru-to, I have a generous proposal for you."

Naruto arched a brow, "A proposal?" _'So soon?'_

"Yes. You should be flattered, because there aren't that many people to whom I express my generosity at the very first encounter."

Snorting, Shikamaru and Neji shared a skeptical look.

"I want you to join my group." Catching the boy's interest perk a bit, Kabuto decided to powder that interest a bit more, "You see, I run one of the biggest gangs in this whole prison. I have limitless connections with people outside and am profound in getting any necessary sources on the inside. Join me, and I'll give you guarantee on your safety, remedy, drugs and basically anything your little head may wish for… That is…_if_ you do a comeback and fulfill one small request."

"What request?" Naruto scowled as the man's grin turned wicked.

"In order for you to join my ranks, all you have to do…is _submit_, and the deal is complete."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed deeply as he stared at Naruto, whose silence was more than slightly unnerving.

Staring at the pale man for quite some time, Naruto couldn't help but smirk, "Submit, huh? In what way?"

Licking his lips, Kabuto stepped closer to the smaller male and pushed the frowning Suigetsu away before pulling the blond's chin up with his index finger. "…_Pleasurable_. Of course, I wouldn't mind to get a little _rough_ if it's to your likings, but I can also be very gentle, if you _beg_."

Clapping his teeth, Naruto tried not to stir as Kabuto's finger glided down the line of his jaw.

Feeling like he's getting through to him, Kabuto's lips stretched a welcoming smile. "Well? What's your answer?"

"Sorry." Smacking the hand away from his face, Naruto glared and turned the surprised, blinking Kabuto his back. "But I'll pass."

The silver-haired was unexpectedly shocked. _'He dares defy ME!'_ "Don't you dare…-" grabbing the blond by the elbow, Kabuto jerked him back, "-…turn your back on me, you bitch! You have no right to deny me!"

"On the contrary…-" Snatching Kabuto's wrist with his free hand, Naruto grit through his teeth, "-…I do." and with that, he suddenly snapped Yakushi's wrist with a sickening crack.

"AAAHH! Mother-Fucker! …M-My Arm!" Kabuto fell to his knees, getting quickly fussed over by his men.

"Holly Crap!" Shikamaru and his two friends jumped a quick step back.

"Be thankful I'm not going to break your second arm. Wouldn't want to leave you without a _stick_ to fuck yourself up with! Fucker!" Turning away, Naruto placed his hands in his pockets and walked off.

"You Fucking Bitch! You're a Dead Man, Uzumaki! You Hear Me? I'm going to Kill You!" Kabuto yelled out his lungs.

Shaking away his still startled expression, Shikamaru threw his cigarette away and quickly went to catch up with Naruto. Grabbing him by the elbow, the Nara fell with his steps.

"You shouldn't have done that." he whispered in a warning hiss, steering the blond away from other leering gang groups whose eyes were now fully set on the blond. "Not only will the guards take a note in it, but you also just made yourself into a grand spectacle to everyone even I wouldn't want to get involved with."

Naruto looked at him with a small smile, "Even you? Heh, sorry, but it's hard to believe that _you_ would be the gang type, Shikamaru."

Smirking, the 'slacker' said, "You'll be surprised."

…

10:00

"Mr. Uzumaki, if you have not yet been acquainted with the inner rules of this prison then please, let me remind you that carrying out such irrelevant acts may lead you into isolation for months on end! I do not support violence in my prison!"

Nodding his head in understanding, Naruto refused to meet the warden's gaze and kept staring on the emblem on the desk that read 'H. Sarutobi'. "I understand, sir. It won't happen again."

"I sure do hope so," frowning, the sixty-year old warden took his seat and studied the young man in front of him more carefully. _'Rather unusual boy. He is slightly similar to…nah.'_ "Alright. You may go. Since this is your very first time in such a place, I'll let you get off this with a warning." _'Besides, Mr. Yakushi is well known for his…_tendencies_ and it wouldn't be a surprise if he suddenly came in with something other than a broken arm.'_

Inclining his head, Naruto turned as a guard took his elbow and guided him out of the office.

…

21:25

Looking around the area and making sure that he's in a more isolated and mainly secure place than others, further from any other late person or pervert taking a shower, Naruto placed his towel and belongings to the side and grabbed his soap. Turning the shower handles on, he gasped in delight at the smooth water washing away his 'sins' and quickly began scrubbing himself from any signs of dirt. Brushing his hair clean, he cursed as his soap suddenly slipped through fingers and slid to the side.

"Shit," cursing, Naruto reached out to grab it but nearly jumped as someone else's hand reached for it and picked it up instead.

Looking up, eyes travelling involuntarily through lean, well-built, muscular body standing in front, Naruto's eyes lightly widened as they met deep dark coal enlightened with red shadow.

"…aaa…" unsure what to say, Naruto's mouth slightly agape.

Straightening up to his full height, which to Naruto's disinclination was once again taller than him, the longhaired raven's eyes slowly went over Naruto's own body before stopping back to his eyes. A sly smirk suddenly appeared to which Naruto replied with a glare.

"Something I can help you with?"

At the blond's heated hiss, the man's smirk widened. "You dropped something." he replied in calm, smooth voice, holding out Naruto's soap between his long fingers.

Looking suspiciously at the smug-one, Naruto quickly reached out for his item, "…yea…thanks." he said, yet came out empty-handed as the man's elbow suddenly bent and he pulled the soap out of his reach, making Naruto slightly stumbled closer to him and nearly slip under the wet floor if the man hadn't caught him.

Amused, the said man chuckled, "Careful, little fish. This place tends to be rather…unstable."

Growling at the 'little fish' comment, blushing, Naruto freed himself from the wandering hands wrapped up around him and quickly snatched the soap away before turning away. Grabbing his towel, he quickly tied it around his waist and took the rest of his stuff with before huffing and marching out of the showers.

Watching the boy leave in a hurry, the amused man shook his head, remembering that nice tint of pink on those strangely scarred yet delectable cheeks. "Naruto Uzumaki, huh…" _'…Sounds familiar.'_ Frowning to his own thoughts, the man turned off the shower handle the boy forgot in his haste and looked to the side as something glittering suddenly caught his eye.  
A light-blue crystal gem sparkled on the top of the moist counter where the boy had previously left his belongings…and unnoticeably seemed to forget something very precious. Smirking, the man picked the strange-shaped treasure by its black string and placed it in his hand. Well-well…seems that his next encounter with the blond blue-eyed being shall be much more sooner than he had anticipated.

…

03:20

Groaning, twitching, tossing and turning, Shikamaru finally gave out a loudly disapproving cry of 'urgh' and turned onto his stomach, glaring daggers through his sleep-blurry eyes at the figure of his loud cellmate by the sink. "AGAIN?"

"Jesus, will you give me at least one decent night of sleep already?" Missing the blond suddenly froze at his voice, Shikamaru rubbed his eyes. "What a Hell are you doing there anyways?"

"Nothing," Quickly turning around, Naruto whipped a trail of sweat from his forehead and gazed at his cellmate.

Looking the apparently exhausted blond up and down, Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with you? You alright?"

"Fine. Why?"

"Besides the sweat and your constant night walking?"

"…"

"Man…this has become rather frequent; no normal person has so much natural needs during the nights. Are you a diabetic or something?"

Forcing his frown away and grinning sheepishly, Naruto replied in relief as the 'slacker' just gave him a pretty good getaway excuse. "Y-yea…I guess you could almost say that."

Blinking at the answer in a moment of silence, Shikamaru sighed and rolled over, "That's it. I'm taking you to the doctor in the morning." _'Otherwise I'm gonna be the one ending up in there. Good God, I'm sooo tired.'_

Blinking, Naruto's frown quickly re-appeared and he hissed silently, "Gee…_thanks_, Shika. You're a _true_ friend."

"Mhmm…" murmuring in half-sleep, Shikamaru hugged his pillow back and soon began to lightly snore.

'_Great…that's all I need now.'_ Brushing his sweaty, dirty hands against his night-pants, Naruto glared at Shikamaru. Walking back to his bed, he slipped under the covers. _'Fuck…this is taking way longer than I had hoped.'_

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thank ya:_ hikkyaku-ame, -siarafaerie-101-miss, Naruto00 & narubby23! XDD


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 2**_

* * *

08:20

Tying up his shoes in a nick of speed, Naruto quickly grabbed his jacket and prepared to run out of the cell, …at least he could have, if a sudden hand hadn't dropped down on him from the top bunk and grabbed the nape of his shirt.

"Where do you think you're going so fast?" grumbled Shikamaru, his head still buried deeply inside the pillow, while Naruto stared at his 'magical' hand in amazed wonder.

'_Dear Lord…is this guy prescient?'_ "Aaa…I wanted to go…sightseeing?"

"_Of course_ you did." Pulling the blond back and further away from the bars, Shikamaru jumped off his bed and landed between his amazed cellmate and the exit. "We have an appointment with the doc. Or did you forget that already?"

'_Blasted Shikamaru…that slimy…Argh!'_ "No," crossing his arms, Naruto tried to prevent his cheeks from puffing up.

"Great. Then wait up while I get dressed." Shikamaru yawned and walked behind the fuming blond.

'_The damn slacker! God! Why is he making everything even harder!'_

…

08:45

Leaning his head against the entwined hands behind his neck, Shikamaru couldn't stop the fifteenth appearing tick-mark on his forehead as the blond by his side couldn't stop fidgeting and shaking his leg.

Dropping his hand firmly onto Naruto's shaking knee, Shikamaru hissed silently, "Stop fidgeting. What are you so nervous about?"

"I'm afraid of needles." Naruto quickly thought up a lie and stopped shaking his knee, much to Shikamaru's delight, yet soon his other leg began shaking which nearly made Shikamaru roar.

"Good God man, calm down already! It can't be that bad, can it! They'll just do a little checkup on you that's all. Besides, no-one says you're getting that oh-so-scary needle in you."

'_Dammit, Nara, I'm gonna kill you one day!'_ Naruto wished he could at least punch the damn brunet,_ 'Have you any idea what you've done. I'm a hundred and ten percent health filled bastard with proteins that can heave gods. If the medics do a checkup on me and find out that everything's fine, then they'll start to have suspicions on my behavior through your constant whining. God Damn It All!'_

"Mr. Uzumaki?" a purple haired young-woman suddenly peeked out into the waiting hall with a tabloid held close to her chest as she called for the next patient. "Naruto Uzumaki?"

'_Maybe if I ignore her, she'll think I'm not here.'_

"Yes, right here." but of course, Shikamaru didn't give him the pleasures and responded in his place.

"You're next. Please follow me." smiled the lavender eyed nurse and went inside.

"Go on, man." pushing the twitching blond out of his chair, Shikamaru smirked as Naruto looked back at him with a tearfully pleading look of a six-year old child.

"Will you come with me and hold my hand?" whimpered Naruto, even though on an inside he was tearing down walls. _'Fucking Hell, I'm seriously going to murder him for making me act like that!'_

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru crossed his hands and leant back in the chair. "Quit being such a crybaby. Now go on get in. I'll wait you here." _'Geez, what's wrong with this guy? One day he's all cocky and breaking bones and the next he tells me he's afraid of needles? Che! And he claims to be a sniper at that. Such a troublesome man.'_

Looking up at the ceiling, Naruto sighed dejectedly before hanging down his head and entering the medical-room. _'It'd be heaven if that ceiling suddenly dropped down on him. Jesus, spare me!'_

Closing the door behind him, Naruto blinked as the first thing to catch his eye was a bright color of pink hair and green eyes. _'Weird.'_

Looking up at the entering blond, the female doctor stopped her eyes from rooming the handsome man and took the handed notes from her purple-haired assistant. _'Naruto Uzumaki. A newly brought convict sentenced for lifetime.'_ dropping the folder onto her desk for later check, the not more than twenty-five year old woman stood up and approached the still staring blond.

"So how are we feeling today, Mr. Uzumaki?" she asked as she placed her hand on his forehead.

Jerking back at the abrupt contact, Naruto finally snapped his attention from her hair and looked at her eyes. "Fine, and yourself?" he asked, giving a friendly grin.

"Just peachy," replied the smiling pink-haired woman and headed back to her desk. "Please take off your shirt and come here."

Doing as told, Naruto stood before her.

Placing a stethoscope over his chest, the doctor forcefully pushed away her sudden desire to stare at the hard tanned chest of her patient in favor of listening to his beats and breathing.

"Hm, well the statics are okay. Let's see how everything else goes. Please take a seat."

After taking his blood pressure, temperature and basically anything that could lead to sings of bad indication, she sighed and stood up. "Well your beats are steady, the temperature is normal, and there seems to be no signs of any pressure on the body. All in all, you seem perfectly healthy."

"Honest?" blinking his lids in happy delight, Naruto glared at the glass wall behind which a certain 'slacker' could be seen lazing around. _'I had _no_ idea!'_

"Let me just take a small blood specimen for a few test runs. It'll tell us if there's anything wrong with your body that we can't see." taking out a small cotton covered in ethanol, she outstretched Naruto's arm and run it over the part of his skin; tossing it then away she grabbed a syringe and said in a soothing manner, "You won't feel a thing."

'_Hm…a needle. Wait! A needle? Ah…fuck.'_

Pulling out the blood-filled syringe, the doctor turned to Naruto with a smile, "There, that should-…"

'Thud'

Blinking, the female-doctor looked down and stared at her passed out patient on the floor. Exchanging glances with her equally blinking assistant, both girls giggled.

…

"Mr. Nara?"

"Hm?" opening his eyes, Shikamaru stood up as the nurse peeked through the door.

"Could you please be of some assistance?"

"Huh?" confused, he skipped a quick glance at the two guards by the main entrance before he went after her, only to freeze as soon as his eyes met his blond cellmate on the ground. "Ah, crud. He really wasn't kidding."

Smiling, the pink-haired woman waved him over, "Could you please help us place Mr. Uzumaki on the bed. He kind a…passed out."

"Sure, Miss Haruno."

"I had no idea he was this sensitive." smiled the nurse, watching Shikamaru easily pick up the poor blond and place him onto the hospital bed.

"In truth, I didn't either." rubbing his neck, Shikamaru looked at the medic. "So? Anything wrong with him? Other than _this_."

Frowning, the pink-haired doctor said, "No. He is perfectly healthy when it comes to appearance. Though I did take some of his blood to check if there is anything beneath. The results will be known after two days, be sure to bring him back here then. In the mean time, here, I've written out some medicine for him. They're light, so there is no danger of overdose. If what they'll just help him relax during his sleep and lessen his constant needs."

"Aa…" Sighing, he took the bottle of tablets from her and looked back at Naruto.

…

01:01

Staring at the bottom end of his cellmate's mattress that covered his view from the ceiling, Naruto couldn't erase the constant scowl that fell on his features every minute he was kept from his work. _'Thanks to this little visit to the doc, I now can do nothing but play a dumb under drug/medicine (whatever) affected invalid; not to mention the embarrassment I have to live with after deliberately passing out. Sheesh…' _Dropping a hand over his bare stomach he tapped his fingers and turned his head to look at the bottle of tablets sitting on the nightstand. _'Since it's gotten this far into act, I might as well play along and give Shikamaru a feeling that the medicine is working, which means – no work today or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Ahh…fuck this!'_ sighing, he brushed his fingers over his chest and reached out to finger his necklace…, though it wasn't there. Naruto's eyes snapped open wide and he jumped off his bed. "My Necklace!"

"WHA!" jumping up at the shout, Shikamaru cursed as he tangled with his sheets and accidentally rolled down from his bed, falling onto the floor. "AAhh! Fuck that hurts!" Rubbing his head, the lazy brunet pulled himself off the floor and looked tiredly to the side to see his cellmate make a mess out of his own bed.

"Where is it? Where is it!" Naruto constantly repeated to himself as he turned his pillow inside out and fumbled around with sheets. "God Damn It!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Nara!" snapping his glaring eyes at startled Shikamaru, Naruto abruptly tackled him down. "What the fuck did you do to my necklace!"

Still blinking away the last heavenly remains of yet another interrupted sleep, Shikamaru stared at him with confusion, "Your _what_ now?"

"My necklace!" Naruto growled as he shook his poor cellmate like a rag, "Where the hell did you put my necklace, thief!"

"WHa-? Hey! Calm down, Uzumaki!" shaken into awakens hard enough to be able to grab Naruto's wrists and stop him, Shikamaru growled back, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You fucking liar!" pissed, Naruto slammed the unfortunate and terribly confused Shikamaru down and set on his stomach. "If it wasn't you, then who else? There is no-one other than you and me here!"

"Jesus! Calm the fuck down!" Encircling his feet around the blond, Shikamaru quickly flipped them over and pinned Naruto down himself. "I told you, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Staring at the taller man above him, Naruto's eyes finally lidded and he calmed down, seeing that Nara indeed had no idea of what his crazed mind was saying. "Then whe-…"

"Hey! You two!" a sudden metal slam against their bars snapped both heads to the entrance, where a silver-haired officer stood with a strange dark-blue mask covering the bottom half of his face. "If you are going to get intimate now, then pull up some sheets and do it more quietly, before you excite any other inmates around here." he said pointing behind himself.

Naruto's eyes widened as they followed where the man's thumb was jerked and looked across the other seen cell-rooms, where many pairs of leering lust-filled eyes were peering at them through bars. Then his eyes took a slow travel back towards the position he and Shikamaru were in.

'_What A…!'_ "Now wait just a fucking m-…" Clapping down Naruto's spluttering mouth with his hand, Shikamaru looked back at the smirking officer.

"Sorry, Mr. Hatake. We'll try to be quieter next time."

"I sure do hope so." nodding, the officer looked one more time at the blond before he chuckled and left.

Grabbing Shikamaru's hand, Naruto tore it off his mouth and glared, "Darn it, Shikamaru, why did you say that! Now everyone's gonna think we're fucking together. Gha! What the Hell is wrong with you! Have you forgotten that you have a bloody girlfriend, for pit'sake! And…and…and anyways, get the fuck off of m-…"

Snatching Naruto's hands from pushing against his chest, Shikamaru suddenly trapped them atop of Naruto's head. "Shut up, Naruto!" And before the blond could retort back, Shikamaru's lips crashed against his own.

Naruto's eyes went wide and he felt like screaming murder. _'What the Fuck are you doing!'_ trying to force his hands away from his cellmate's unexpectedly strong hold, Naruto whined as Shikamaru's grip only tightened on him more forcefully and his tongue suddenly darted out to pressed its entry.

Pressing his lips together, Naruto blocked Shikamaru his way.

Growling at the stubborn denial, Shikamaru suddenly bit Naruto's lip into submission and ground their groins together. The blond's gasp was all it took for the brunet to slip his tongue inside and explore the tasty entry while his lips rubbed against Naruto's. Sighing in a moment of containment, he soon opened his eyes and slowly broke the forced kiss.

Pulling away, Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as they turned to look to the side and meet with the other inmates, who glared at him before leaving the bars and returning deeper back within their cells.

Sighing in silent relief, Shikamaru looked at his still not breathing wide-eyed cellmate and grinned at him while licking his lips. "You taste good."

Naruto blinked, still staring in dumb startle.

Feeling like being a tease, Shikamaru placed his elbows on either side of Naruto's head and leaned down to whisper over Naruto's lips. "As alluring a sight it all makes, don't take it the wrong way."

Finally finding his voice, Naruto gapped, "…yo-you-you…lazy _Horn'bag_!" snapping in rage, Naruto suddenly forced his knee up.

Shikamaru gasped and his mouth fell open in a silent scream as the blond suddenly hit him hard between his legs. "Fuck!" rolling over and away from him, Nara grit his teeth in pain. "_Why_ did you do that!" whispered struggling Shikamaru, while Naruto took that time to crawl away from him and into a safe corner.

"Why? Why! I'm supposed to be the one asking _you_ bloody 'why?'!"

Glaring up at him, Shikamaru bit out, "Fuck, man. You don't understand."

"Yea well, I have a pretty good hunch. Seeing the way I resemble most parts of your girlfriend it would be no wonder that you'd think it's high time to come onto me. Two more years probably ain't helping you much, are they?"

"It's not like that. Shit," struggling to stand up, Shikamaru cursed as he fell back to his knees.

"You…don't you come near me!" warningly pointed the madly blushing Naruto, feeling like now he should be far more wary of his brown-haired cellmate than his cellmate should be of him. _'The lazy drag, I never imagined he'd be so strong.'_

"Crud! Did you had to hit this hard," glancing pass his shoulder, Shikamaru made sure no-one had their attention on them and turned back to cornering Naruto. "Alright, now listen," pulling his hands up in surrender, Shikamaru chanced to reason, "I swear I am no maniac, no rapist or some sick fuck looking for a quick laid, and no – I am not horny or anything like that, so get that off your mind. The reason why I kissed you was for your own good."

Naruto snapped his teeth at him, "My own good? How th-…" In a flash, Shikamaru was in front of him with a hand clapped onto his mouth. Naruto felt like panicking again, until he saw Shikamaru press a finger to his lips in a silent gesture to be quiet.

"Don't shout. We're not in the woods." Looking quickly behind him, Nara made sure once again that none was looking before he freed Naruto's mouth and spoke again. "As you already know – this prison is no flowers and justice. There are all types of bastards here – rapists, pedophiles, maniacs and killers."

"Oh you don't say. Isn't it like…_obvious_?" sardonically growled the blond.

"Don't make me gage you, Naruto. For Christ's sake, let me finish!" warned Shikamaru, making Naruto quiet down for a bit. "Ok…As I was about to say, there are also certain customs within this prison each inmate should know of. And the most important one is the one concerning you." getting Naruto's attention on that, Shikamaru continued, "You see…every time new inmates are brought in, the other prisoners get overexcited, for it is then a chance to grab and catch a new fish. Each new inmate who comes within the field is set eyes on – be it to kill if the person reveals to be a threat in strength and power, or be it for pleasure and sex. The day _you_ came, you've already been added as both: a threat, after that little episode with Kabuto, and a boy who's yet to be 'claimed'."

Naruto stared at his cellmate for the longest of times. "So…the reason why you-…"

"…-kissed you, was to keep you safe. If I show them you belong to me…- _figuratively speaking_ Naruto! -…they'll leave you alone. With me you can be safe."

Naruto always thought that he could see through his sluggish cellmate…up till now. It was like he was looking at a complete stranger now. Even though it could never be told at first, he was now more than sure that Shikamaru was anything but what he showed him to be at their very first encounter. Not only was it revealed in the 'slacker's' strength but also in his influence around the prison. Respect and caution – those seemed to be the main characteristics the other prisoners dared to reveal around him; features Naruto simply brushed off as mere trifles without a second glance. But now there was simply no arguing the fact that Shikamaru was one very dangerous 'slacker' to know. _'And now with that influence of his…he expects me to become his personal whore? That bastard!'_ Naruto's eyes flashed in anger, "Teme! Are you actually insinuating that you want me as your _bit-_…!"

"Stop shouting already, geez!" clapping Naruto's snappish mouth for the countless time, Shikamaru sighed. "Not literally, no. As I already made that clear, I'm not going to sleep with you _or_ rape you, I'm not even going to force you into a kiss unless it's necessary. I just want to help you."

"Help? Just to _help_, is that it?"

"Yes, that's it. No catch, just a friend's help."

'_Friend huh?'_ Naruto glared at him. _'There can be no friendship between two inmates, especially in a place like this. …Unless there's a benefit.'_ "Oh yea? Friendship or not, I still find it hard to believe that you'd grant me such a luxury with no refund." The sudden smug look on the 'slacker's' face only confirmed Naruto's doubts. "Tell me what is it you want in return?"

'_Seems that the little fish isn't as naïve as I thought.'_ "Is there something you can offer?" smirking at him, Shikamaru chuckled as Naruto huffed with a blush and looked away. "Relax man, I'm kidding. I want nothing from you in _that_ field."

"Hm. Which 'field' then?"

"Verbal."

'_What?'_

"…I want to have your honesty."

Naruto didn't miss the way his voice abruptly changed and he looked at him with arched brow. "Honesty?" _'Why would he want my honestly, of all things?'_

Shikamaru's eyes seemed to lose all traces of his ever lazy expression and he started at his cellmate with dead seriousness. "Yes. I make sure no-one lays a finger on you, and in return _you_ keep no secrets from me."

Naruto's eyes widened some at the man's blunt proclamations. _'No…secrets? Could it be that he suspects something?'_

Watching him carefully, Shikamaru felt his long since misled dots connecting together as the blond failed to conceal his hesitation along the hidden astonishment. _'I knew it.'_

To emphasize himself more clearly, he then said, "You can drop the act, Naruto. I know you are not sick and nor are you simply trying to reveal yourself at nights. Tell me the truth: what is it that you're _really_ doing during those late hours?"

Lost and caught, all Naruto could do was stare into those deep black eyes that suddenly revealed the wisdom of 'seven wonders', which he failed to notice much-much sooner. _'I'm screwed.'_

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thanx to ya:_ narubby23, -siarafaerie-101-miss, xXKuroTenshi666Xx, neko raccoon, KCameh & saya420! XDD


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 3**_

* * *

Shikamaru watched as the blond's breathing contrasted against uneven snips and gasps, no doubt wondering how to get himself out of the current situation.

"So? What's it gonna be?" breaking Naruto's gapping, Shikamaru asked, "Will you tell me or not?"

'_This guy. How much does he know already? Damn it, but I was so careful!'_ Snapping his teeth together, Naruto's expression hardened as he then said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Shikamaru's eyes instantly narrowed, _'Is that how you want it then huh? Playing hard?'_ Nodding, he stood up, "I see."

Clenching his teeth, Naruto glared at the floor as the 'slacker' turned him his back, but instead of heading back to bed as he expected, he pulled something out of his pocket.

"Then I guess you won't know what this does then either, huh?"

The confidence in that smug voice forced Naruto to look up and his eyes widened as Shikamaru showed him a very familiar screw between his fingers.

"How did you get that?" Shooting up to his feet, Naruto went to snatch it back, but Nara caught his wrist and pulled the screw further away from his reach.

"I'm a thief. Did you forget?"

Gritting his teeth at him, Naruto reached for it again but, due to his height and Shikamaru's iron grip, failed. "Give it to me!" he demanded.

Smirking, Shikamaru arched his brow, "Why? You need this?"

"Nara. Don't test my limits. Hand it over!"

"Not until you tell me the truth."

"There is nothing to tell."

"The fact that you make such a big fuss over a mere screw makes it hard to believe."

'_Shit!'_ Wriggling his wrist free, Naruto took a step back. "I can't tell you."

Frowning at the blond's steel silence, Shikamaru huffed, "Hm, you can…you just don't want to. But I guess it's understandable. …It's just too bad that I ain't that understanding." Turning the blond his back, Shikamaru suddenly shouted out through the whole prison, "GUARD!"

Naruto paled and quickly pulled Shikamaru away from the bars, "What the Hell are you doing?"

Shikamaru smirked down on him, "What does it look like, fish? I'm busting you in. Hey! Guard!" he shouted again.

Naruto began to sweat as the footsteps of the officers advanced up the stairs. "Shikamaru please! Don't do this!"

"You know what I want, fish. Whether you trust me on your secrets or I spill the beans and show them this little digit. I'm certain the guards will know what it does."

"Dammit, Nara! Don't!"

"I'm giving you a chance here, Naruto. Just answer me and I'll stop."

"No! I can't do that!" catching the officers nearing within the hearings range, Naruto's eyes went wide. _'Blasted! Think quick! A distraction! I have to shut him up! God, why is this all happening!'_

"Have it your way then. Gu-…" Shikamaru suddenly gasped as the blond grabbed his shoulder and pinned him against the bars before kissing him forcefully on the lips.

Smirking against the aggressive kiss in which Naruto expressed his deep anger towards him by sinking his teeth hard into his bottom lip, Shikamaru guessed that that was his silent answer to the agreement and glided his hands over the smaller man's ass before gripping his tights and flipping their position. Parting his lips for a deeper contact, Shikamaru heaved Naruto higher against the bars while the blond encircled his legs around his waist.

Hearing footsteps meet the final steps to their second-storey sector, Naruto pulled away from the kiss and glared at the smirking Nara. "Bastard."

Smirking even wider, Shikamaru brushed his lips over the other's, "I'll take that as a 'deal'."

"What the Hell!" shouted Asuma, coming within the sight of their cell with the giggling Hatake behind him.

Still glaring at pleased Shikamaru, Naruto's blush and glare only intensified when Nara decided to voice out his next words loud,

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare lube now would you?"

A vivid uproar of whistles, wolf-calls and catcalls filled the whole sector as the other prisoners clapped and yelled from their cells.

"Horny Fuckers." Glaring at the grinning Nara still fumbling fuming Naruto, Asuma banged his baton against the railing and shouted out to the other excitedly cheering and teasing inmates. "Silence!"

Ten cells to the right from the one across from Naruto and Shikamaru's cell, a raven-haired man leant against the bars as he listened to everything going around with furious scowl.

"Nara's gotten pretty bold, hasn't he Itachi?" smirked a pale blue-haired man with sharpened teeth and round black eyes. "I never thought he'd be the one to make the first claim so soon, especially after three years of single struggle. …But now that you think of it, three years of unfulfilled boner will probably do that to anyone."

Ignoring his chuckling cellmate's presence, the black haired un-fisted his hand and looked at the blue-gem in it. _'Claim you say, Kisame? …Hn. We'll just see for how long.'_

…

'_Fuck it all! That smartass Nara, while I was too worked up thinking of a way to act myself through this mess while playing him as a joke, the former lazy fool was already two steps in front of me, playing me for an even bigger joke. God, I wish I could kill him.'_ digging his nails into Shikamaru's shoulders, which to his delight made Nara flinch a bit, Naruto still had his glare on even when the officers went away and the 'slacker' carried him back to his bed.

Placing the blond onto the bottom mattress, Shikamaru kneeled in front of him.

"Well…that wasn't so hard now was it?"

"I should kill you right now." hissed Naruto, making Shikamaru chuckled.

"And I should still pry for a more formal answer to my question."

Ignoring his words, Naruto leaned forward so their noses nearly touched. "That was a low shot, Nara. You used blackmail on me."

"Is that how you want to call it?" pulling out the long screw from his pants, Shikamaru twirled it between his fingers, "I think it was a rather sufficient way to finally make you speak."

Jumping up to snatch the screw back, Naruto hissed as Shikamaru quickly placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back onto the bed with easy effort. "I'll have to ask again. Are you confirming our little deal, Uzumaki?"

Naruto's expression didn't change as he retorted back, "You talk about getting my trust and honesty, and yet here I find out you've been lying to me from the moment of my arrival – everything about you was but an act."

"Then I guess that makes us even, huh?" slyly replied Nara, reminding Naruto that he was not pure the past few days either.

'_Fuck, he's right.'_ Leaning back, Naruto sighed irritably. "…Alright. I guess we should start everything from the beginning then."

"That we should, but then, I'm still awaiting that confirmation to our little deal."

"Tch. You're annoyingly persistent when you want to be, you slacker."

"I'll take that as a compliment." simply said Shikamaru and arched an awaiting brow. "Well?"

Burying his hands in his hair, Naruto heaved a tired sigh before he tilted his head to the side and looked at the sink. _'Seems I have no choice.'_ "You see that?" he asked silently, nodding towards his line of sight.

Shikamaru nodded.

"Behind there stands a getaway, leading a wide path inside the sewer. The opened pipes underneath are the only sources connecting the basic grounds of the prison and infirmary, which by whim is my current goal."

"And what's so special in the infirmary?"

"If I get to the infirmary, I can plan a way of an escaping route from there, since that's the closest building to the walls."

"So I thought right. You're planning to break out."

Naruto's eyes flashed as he replied, "I do."

Watching the blond in minor skepticism, Shikamaru then said, "You do realize that this is a prison, not some ordinary building you can break with a hammer. On top of that, there are guards in every corner of the field. How do you intend to pass that?"

Naruto glared at him, "No-one ever said it could be done easy…, but for _me_ it's worth the risk."

"Perhaps, though tell me this. If you, 'by luck', manage to fool the guards and get pass them, how can you be so certain of the construction sustaining this prison, or of everything that is behind these walls that could help you escape?"

"Before becoming professional assassins, we must learn everything that there is within our flaws and obstacles before they come into an encounter. Konoha Prison was but a first building I had to memorize on the inside and outside – starting with its prestige security and ending with a system. For then it would be that much easier to break out of it…if you suddenly get caught that is."

Shaking his head, Shikamaru smiled to himself, "How very interesting."

Narrowing his brows, Naruto crossed his arms, "Yes. There's just this one pesky little problem standing in my way."

Nara arched a questioning brow, faking as if he didn't know what. "Oh? What is it?"

Frowning, Naruto grit out, "You."

Leaning forward, Shikamaru felt challenged. "You wanna try and get rid of me?"

Leaning forward as well, Naruto still felt mad at the man for manipulating and fooling him all the damn time and shot back. "I don't know about _try_, but I see only one solution that'll benefit me in many ways."

Not letting himself get threatened, Shikamaru stood his ground. "Then let me make it a bit more difficult for you. …I'm going with you."

Watching him from eye to eye, Naruto then smirked and whispered, "You're not afraid to get stabbed in the back, are you?"

Shikamaru didn't waiver in his confidence as he grinned back at him. "Not even intimidated."

…

08:35

Pulling on a white shirt, Naruto froze as he suddenly remembered his necklace. _'Fuck! That bloody thief!'_

Grabbing a boot from the floor, he tossed it at his sleeping cellmate who groaned in pain. "Nara! Get the Hell up!"

"Damn man, why so aggressive this early?"

"Cut the crap, slacker! And tell me where you placed my necklace already?"

"For the last time, Naruto, I don't know what you're talking about. I took no damn necklace of yours." turning onto his stomach, Shikamaru dropped his hands over his head.

Grabbing the white sheets, Naruto pulled them off of complaining Shikamaru. "Then where the hell is it?"

"Dammit, I have no clue." Placing a pillow over his head, Shikamaru grumbled sleepily. "Maybe you left it someplace and forgot."

"Tch, yeah ri-…" Naruto abruptly stopped folding the sheets and dropped them onto the ground. "Ah, Fuck… The showers!"

Hugging his pillow, Shikamaru yawned loudly and prepared to fall back to sleep while Naruto rushed out of the cell.

Not soon after, a green-clad _youth_ entered their cell, "Mr. Nara!"

"Alright! I'm up – I'm up!"

…

08:45

Not bothered by getting his clothes wet, Naruto entered the moist showers, passing many naked men looking back at him, he walked over to the place he lastly had his shower and looked around every corner and hole. "Dammit, it ain't here."

"Lost there something, little fox?" suddenly asked a silken voice that slightly edged towards a snake's hiss.

Turning around, Naruto cursed as the first thing to draw his eyes were the naked man's exposed…parts, and he quickly looked up, meeting a widely smirking pale man with long dark wet hair and yellow eyes contrasting against the strange violet markings down the corners.

"…n-n-yes." clearing his voice, Naruto gathered confidence and spoke, "I did."

"Hm. Perhaps I could be of assistance? What is it that you lost?" asked the man, taking delicate steps forward.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched, taking the man's advances for a revealing threat. "A necklace. I lost a blue necklace."

The man stopped for a moment and he actually blinked in thought, seemingly recalling something in his memory. "A crystal necklace?"

Naruto's eyes lightened up, "You know where it is?"

Blinking, the man lessened his frown and smirked again; chuckling he shook his head, "Sorry little one, but I don't."

Frowning, this time it was Naruto who took a step closer, "Then how do you know it was crystal? I haven't said that."

Crossing his arms over his naked chest, the man grinned, "I've seen it on you a few days before."

"How?" argued Naruto, closing the last few steps between them and tilting his head up, hating the fact that even this man was taller than him. "We hadn't even met yet, and I have never showed it out of my shirt."

"Oh?" leaning his head forward, the pale-skinned grinned down on the glaring youngling, "Ever thought I can see through fabric?"

Naruto gasped as a large hand suddenly grabbed him by the throat and pushed him hard against the shower wall.

Clawing at the hand clenching his neck, Naruto suddenly caught movements from the side and opened his mouth to shout but the other quickly clapped it down with his hand and glared at the other men in the showers who quickly left under his gaze despite Naruto's terrified yet muffled shouts for 'help'. "MHGHmmm!"

"Shh…don't scream. I'm not going to bite…hard." Forcing panicking Naruto's head up and exposing his neck, the black-haired gently gliding his nose up the tan skin and took in its delicate scent. "Mmm…You smell good." Flicking his tongue out, he ran it over the shaking blond's throat.

Knitting his eyes in both disgust and fear, Naruto screamed through the hand covering his mouth and tried to punch him away, but his wrists were suddenly grabbed and he was forced off his feet as the man slammed them high atop his head, leaving him practically hanging.

Licking his lips, yellow eyes looked into the boy's blue and smirked. "People say Nara claims his ownership on you. Yet where is he now? He knows it's against the rules to leave his treasured property wondering around alone after only one day of its claim. For who knows what might happen during that time the other inmates feel still agitated for the loss."

Naruto gasped for air as the hand suddenly left his mouth, but before he gathered enough lungs to scream, the man's mouth covered his own.

Tightening his hold on the boy's hands, the black-haired _snake_ grabbed his left thigh and hooked it over his waist, pressing his aching erection closer to the blond's.

Naruto's nails dug deeply into his palms as the male glided his hand higher up his thigh before squeezing his ass, involuntarily making him jump and gasp.

Grinning, the black-haired pushed his tongue inside Naruto's mouth and moaned in delight as it came in contact with blond's tongue, but it quickly retreated away from him. Not pleased with the denied incorporation, he squeezed the blond's ass more, though it was a rather unforeseen mistake because the next thing he knew, Naruto's teeth sank deeply into his tongue.

"AAArgh!" tearing his mouth away, the man glared at the blond and smacked him with the back of his hand…

…But the slight distance the man had to make between him for that gave Naruto the awaited chance, and he forced his leg up, kicking hard into the pale-skin's abdomen.

The man doubled in pain and released his hold on the boy, who dropped to his knees before springing up and running away, but the sly _snake_ didn't give him the chance as he quickly caught Naruto's leg and forced him down.

"Shit!" turning onto his back, Naruto's eyes widened as his neck was suddenly grabbed again and the man sat on him.

Brushing away a trail of blood from his mouth with his thumb, yellow eyes showed excitement as the man looked down on Naruto and grinned. "It's been so long since I had anyone deny me the pleasure. And the first time when it's been expressed with such vigor."

Squeezing the gapping blond's throat to emphasize that fact that he was not only pleased but very enraged as well, the man finally loosened his hold and Naruto gasped for breath.

"Never the less, who said that'll make me stop?" chuckling, the man suddenly flipped the wide-eyed Naruto over and grabbed his pants.

"No… Don't!" terrified, Naruto screamed, desperately trying to crawl away.

"Stop trashing about! And don't you worry, it'll be over soon." Licking his dry lips, the man placed a firm hand onto Naruto's back to prevent him from any unnecessary movements while he busied his other hand by revealing the cleft of the boy's ass and…

"NGH!"

Naruto's eyes snapped back opened as that hard weight suddenly left him completely and he heard a loud slam echo throughout the walls. Turning quickly over, he flinched as two hands abruptly wrapped over his chest and he was pulled to his feet.

"You alright?" whispered a familiar voice by his ear. Looking pass his shoulder he blinked in surprise at his cellmate.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came back for my suddenly lost _treasure_," he said while looking threateningly at the black-haired man who was currently holding his head and glaring at the two. Apparently Shikamaru nearly slammed him through the wall, if one counts the cracked and broken crumbles of the tiles behind the man.

"That was very foolish of you, Nara." said the elder man, straightening up in composure and cracking his neck. "You should watch your property more closely next time. Be grateful that it was I who found him first. Unlike the others I like to play a bit more before the take."

"I'll keep that in mind, Orochimaru." hissed Shikamaru.

Grinning, the man walked over to the pair.

Naruto tried to get away, but Shikamaru's hands were still around him so all he could do at that time was bury himself deeper into the lazy 'slacker's' body.

Taking Naruto's hand gently, Orochimaru abruptly gave a rather courteous bow and kissed his knuckles, "I apologies for my previous behavior, Naruto. Never the less, it was quite fun." Chuckling the man then left, as if the fact that he nearly raped the poor shaken blond was nothing of great importance.

Naruto blinked, his hand still standing up after the kiss. "Huh?" _'The fucking crap! What the bloody hell is wrong with this fucked up place!'_

…

09:59

After the whole shower episode, Shikamaru decided to take Naruto back to their cell and console him.

Sitting on the bottom bed with the silent blond between his legs, Shikamaru held his hands loosely around the other's waist and prompted his head onto the blond locks.

Trying to start a conversation, Shikamaru whispered, "Did you find the necklace?"

"…no…" came the meek reply.

"Are you alright?"

"…no…"

"You wanna talk about this?"

"…no…"

Sighing, the 'slacker' leant against the wall and said, "Don't let Orochimaru intimidate you, he is rather strange at times."

Naruto snapped at that and turned to his cellmate with a glare, "Strange? You think the fact that he nearly _raped_ me is something to be considered as '_strange_'?"

Running a hand through his hair, the thief said, "Perhaps I over-phrased a bit. What I was trying to tell you is that here are far stronger and way more dangerous psychos to be concerned over. And Orochimaru, please don't shout, can be counted as one of the most normal of them all."

"WHA-…!"

Groaning, Shikamaru quickly clapped his hand over Naruto's mouth and waited until he finished his rant.

"I am not in friendly terms with him either, but there are times when his hand is of sufficient use. After all, he _is_ the leader to the prisoners who have limitless connections, be it outdoors or indoors. He can get you anything you want. Kabuto is his underdog in that field, even though he always brags about being the head of the pack."

"Kabuto? The Yakushi? You saying that they are in one gang?"

"Aa. Unlike Orochimaru, Kabuto is a total shit."

"Yo!"

Rolling their eyes over to the opened entrance, the two cellmates nodded their greetings to Suigetsu.

Entering in, Suigetsu voiced an unintelligent 'huh' as he finally regarded their position. "What the hell's this?"

"What does it look like?" smirking, Shikamaru placed his chin back on Naruto's head. "It's called bondage, Suigetsu. Ever heard of that?"

"What! When the fuck did you manage? Now that's totally unfair!"

Chuckling a little at the other's actions, Naruto's ears perked up as his name was suddenly announced through the mike.

"Naruto Uzumaki. To the visiting sector."

…

10:21

Entering the meeting room, Naruto ran his eyes over every table before he saw a mop of red. Without thinking he rushed through the other visitors and inmates to envelop his brother into a tight hug.

Kyuubi nearly dropped down from the impact but still managed to catch the blond and hold him still. "Hey little guy, how've you been?"

"Awful…" silently whispered Naruto, burying his face deep into concerned red-head's neck.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thanks to:_ Naruto00, saya420, Savagehunger47, -siarafaerie-101-miss, neko raccoon & narubby23! =DD


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 4**_

* * *

Sighing, Naruto reluctantly pulled away from his elder brother's tight embrace and blinked as his eyes quickly caught a pair of dark black obsidian shinning behind his opposite twin.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" he asked in disturbed startle.

A man of near twenty-two removed his business glasses and looked over the blond inmate's wear with a glare. "That's something I was going to ask _you_," he stated coldly and took a threatening step closer to Naruto. "Tell me: What are _you_ doing _here_?"

"Can't we discuss it when you're like…calmer?" taking a subconscious step closer to his brother, Naruto ended up making him into a barrier between himself and the advancing Sasuke.

"Why? Don't I _look_ calm enough?"

"That doesn't even appear close, sadist," protested Naruto, pointing accusingly at an angry ticking mark on Sasuke's forehead.

"Hn. I guess you're right," smirking, Sasuke suddenly grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulling him away from Kyuubi.

"Oh God Help Me!" Naruto cried out through the whole room, completely forgetting the place he was in until a guard came to them and demanded an explanation.

"Is there a problem here?"

Grinning, Sasuke pulled the helpless blond into his arms and said with easy smoothness, "Everything's fine officer. My friend here just couldn't repress his excitement at seeing me. Isn't that right, _Na-ru-to_?"

Flinching as Sasuke's hands squeezed him a bit too tight, Naruto hissed out a small, "…yes."

Frowning at them, the officer still nodded and left with one more backward glance.

Watching the officer walk off, Sasuke leant closer to Naruto's ear and slowly whispered out, "Any last words you'd like to say to me, Naruto-Chan?"

"Kyuubi…you're no help at all!" Naruto barked at his amused brother.

…

10:49

After detailed explanations and close suffocation from Sasuke's constant glares and other death expressions, Naruto managed to lay out his part of the story.

"You're an idiot!"

"Why you inconsiderate prick! Show some compassion why don't you!"

Ignoring the hissing blond, Sasuke continued on with his lectures. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you had a trial? I could've helped."

"You were on vacation then, and I didn't want to disturb you." Naruto brushed that off.

"The Hell with my vacation! That's a pathetic excuse! You should've said something. Besides, you never seemed to be bothered to disturb me every time all those other members of your gang got tangled. Yet when it's you, you're always graved in silence. Damn it! At least _you_ should have called!" at this he looked over at Kyuubi who arched his brow.

Sighing, Naruto ran his hands through his hair, "Don't blame Kyuubi Sasuke. I told him I didn't want you to be a part of it, even though he insisted."

"That's crap, Naruto. I'm your lawyer. Further than that you're my friend. I could've gotten you out of that court with ease."

'_Che…proud ego!'_ "No you couldn't. It was a lose-lose trial Sasuke. All evidence were drown out. There was no way Ky-…a…'khem'…_I_ could've escaped that."

Sasuke didn't miss the way Naruto tripped on his own words at the very end, trying to hide behind a faked cough, nor did he miss the way Kyuubi's eyes lowered down in what seemed to look like…guilt.

Frowning, Sasuke leant against the table and looked deeply into Naruto's eyes. "Why did that stutter of yours just made me feel that there's something you're not completely telling me?"

Feeling Sasuke slowly catch onto things he shouldn't, Naruto mastered up an unwavering expression and said without a waver, "N-…o…?…" But all that work was crumbled to mush as soon as Naruto caught Sasuke not looking at him but at Kyuubi. _'Ah Fuck.'_

Sasuke's eyes hardened as he examined Kyuubi's every reaction through the asked question, even though it was not for him to answer. "Don't tell me that what I'm thinking right now is true."

"That's not t-…" Naruto quickly interjected but Kyuubi cut him off,

"You're thinking right, Sasuke." Opening his eyes, Kyuubi looked at Sasuke without emotion, "It was I who cast that shot…not Naruto."

…

All thoughts left Sasuke's mind as he stared at Naruto's twin… the true fugitive.

Turning to his frowning brother, Kyuubi's lips pulled up in a thin line, "Naruto had nothing to do with this. Even from the very beginning of our mission it was I who was in charge to rid the six councilors. Naruto is taking his time in prison for m-…"

"Kyuubi, that's enough." disappointed at his brother for telling, Naruto's eyes skimmed the room before landing back on the silent black-haired man. "Sasuke look. Kyuubi was not at a fault. _I_ wanted it to happen that way… _I_ lead the cops on my trail intentionally."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want Kyuubi to go back to jail. Have you any idea what he's already been through? You don't even know half of what happen-?"

"Shut up, Naruto!" suddenly hissed Kyuubi, snapping Naruto out of his jabber.

Biting his tongue, Naruto lowered his gaze and mumbled a silent 'sorry', to which Kyuubi sighed and reached across the table, gripping Naruto's hand in silent gesture of apology.

Watching the two brothers interact, Sasuke sighed himself and brushed his fingers over his hair. He didn't dare say anything more, for those were family borders he was walking on, he had no right to intrude; even if he was Naruto's best friend, he could not expect them to reveal their deepest secrets or past scars if they didn't want to.

"This is all messed up." entwining his fingers together, Sasuke leant his forehead against them and then asked, "At least tell me what sentence have you been given?"

Despite their little argument just moments ago, Naruto felt that this time he'd have to run away for real. "…Lifetime."

"WHAT!" Sasuke was out of the chair in seconds, just when the mike sounded out and told everyone that visiting hours were over.

"Oh Lord! That God _does_ exist!" quickly pulling his brother and Sasuke into an awkward hug over the table, Naruto jumped away before Sasuke could grab him by the shirt and basically kill him, and stepped behind the officer, waving a 'see you soon' to Kyuubi and 'hope you won't be back so soon' to the overprotective 'mother-hen' called Sasuke.

…

14:34

Leaning his elbows against the benches, Naruto tilted his neck back and looked at the clear sky. _'It's closely nearing to a week and my progress has not even been half complete. Back when Kyuubi was sentenced in Suna Prison he already escaped within two weeks…even thought it was along the rest of the inmates in toe. Still, I had to gawk at him when I found out that he managed to blow up the whole damn building to the ground thus freeing every sealed soul in it. How the hell did he do that?'_

Sitting a bench lower between the blond's thighs, Shikamaru leant his head against Naruto's stomach and propped his hands on the other's bent knees, occasionally taking a lazy whiff from his cigar while listening to Naruto's silent snorts, groans and huffs.

'_Tch. Compared to Kyuubi I'm sure as hell taking my time. Not to mention that I still haven't retreated something that belongs to me.'_ Narrowing his brows, Naruto turned to glare at the brow-haired man between his legs.

Feeling 'his' blond's disorder, Shikamaru blew out a white line of smoke. "What is it?"

"You still haven't returned something of mine," silently murmured Naruto, turning his eyes to watch over the laughing Suigetsu and some other inmates bickering over ridiculous things he couldn't care less about.

Smiling knowingly, Shikamaru looked up at him. "Aa… I do."

Scowling at his carefree cellmate who didn't seem too eager to return his stolen property in favor of simply taunting him, Naruto tried to be nice. "Will you give it back to me… _pleassse_?"

Sniggering slightly at that stretched out plea, Shikamaru looked to the side. "Hmm. You know…, considering its structure and rough built, I'm not so sure if it's safe enough to do so anymore. A five inch long screw can be easily used as a weapon."

"You think I'll use it to kill you?" Naruto's brow arched in interest, that was a rather considerable idea he had going there.

"Can you give me a reason to doubt that fact?"

Smirking, the blond shook his head, "I can't. However," leaning forward, he then whispered, "if you want to get out of here, do you think you have that much of a choice?"

Taking in another drug, Shikamaru opened his palm and looked at the sharp screw resting in it. "…no…" he couldn't disagree.

Reaching over, Naruto entwined his fingers with Shikamaru's and covered the screw between their palms. "If it makes things better I'll give you a hint. I never attack from the back."

Chuckling at that, Shikamaru pressed his fingers over Naruto's. _'That's surely assuring.'_

…

01:50

Coming to kneel behind the bed, Naruto pulled out the long screw he finally got from Shikamaru and pressed its round head against the wall before forcefully pushing it down with his whole body mass against the wall. Slowly, it started to bend to the side till one side of its round head pressed against screw's length. _'That should do it.'_

Crawling over to the sink, he pushed the thin head's side into another 'x' shaped screw's head, closely attached to the corner of the sink and the wall, and started to turn.

Jumping out of his bed, Shikamaru glanced back at the other cells, seen from the dim light of the prison lamps, and bent down over the blond, watching in mid interest as after some struggle, Naruto managed to twist the rusty old screw from its spot and began twirling it out.

Both flinched as the screw suddenly gave out a loud squeaky sound and they quickly looked behind them before slowly taking the creaky screw out.

Sighing, Shikamaru leant against the wall while Naruto moved on to the next screw. "How ever did you hope to plan out a clean escaping route without me noticing it? You're making too much damn noise."

"I decided to get to that part after I had to break down this wall. I didn't know that you were this nosy and would catch up so fast." Pushing his sweaty bangs out of his eyes, Naruto clenched his teeth as he tried to turn the next screw out of its stuck place.

"Hm," smirking, Shikamaru closed his eyes. "And I never knew you were this smart."

Glaring at him, Naruto wiped off his sweaty hands against his pants and grabbed the deformed screw back; with one more push he finally managed to turn the screw and this one squeaked as well.

Walking before the bars, Shikamaru leant against them and looked around, making sure all's in its calm place.

Finally, pulling it out, Naruto sighed and sat on the ground, placing his exhausted and hurting hands on his knees. "Alright, that's three more left."

Catching lights of lanterns on the bottom floor, Shikamaru stepped back from the bars and whispered out a silent warning, "Night guard."

Gathering the scattered screws from the floor and stuffing them under his pillow, Naruto and Shikamaru quickly slipped under the sheets and stilled their breaths just as a night officer walked pass their cell and made sure they were sound asleep before moving forward.

Heaving out a small exhale, the two settled more comfortable against their pillows and listened as the footsteps faded away before sinking within the dreams.

…

11:15

Walking into the infirmary, Naruto and Shikamaru sat before the pink-haired doctor and watched as she shuffled through a few papers till she found Naruto's file.

"Well Mr. Uzumaki, good news. You're perfectly healthy. No side-effects or infections were found during the test. However, may I know how's your sleep coming up? Are there any troubles during the nights?" at this she looked at Shikamaru.

The brunet shook his head. "He's doing much better now. I guess that was but a slight disturbance of mind back then."

'_Well looks who's suddenly all innocent and stuff. Urgh! Of course you're gonna say something like that now, since you're in the same boat as me.__'_ Closing his eyes, Naruto leant back against the chair, still not able to fully forgive Shikamaru for being…Shikamaru. _'God, why are you making my life so miserably difficult?'_

"Aa," nodding the pink-haired woman looked back at Naruto, "The only reasonable theory explaining it is that your previous night walking was but a small influence from the stress. Seeing that this is your very first time in prison, it's only natural that your mind gets a bit scared and your body reacts to it."

Naruto wanted to jump up and shout that _'Like Hell I was scared! It was all that damn 'slacker's' fault! If what, he is the one I'm more scared of than this entire prison and inmates combined. Geez… Wait. Did I just admit I'm scared? Dammit! That's not true!'_ "I see."

"You know. I had many patients going through the same phases you have, but all of that changed with time and a little help. So whenever there is something that may still trouble you, don't hesitate to speak up. I'm right here to listen you out."

'_Fucking hell! Do I look like a mental psycho _now_?'_

Trying not to laugh at a small twitch that popped on Naruto's forehead, Shikamaru averted his gaze to the window and blinked, seeing the prison wall within less than six meter reach from the infirmary, and thick electrical wires connecting both sides. _'So this is the main point to his plan.'_

Shikamaru was pulled back to reality when Naruto stood up from his chair and smiled at the doc.

"Thank you very much for all your help, Miss Haruno. And I'll be sure to take your offer into consideration."

"Oh please, Sakura is just fine," the pink-haired chuckled and waved the two men away.

…

14:01

Grabbing his tray of food, Naruto went over to the waiving Suigetsu while Shikamaru stayed behind to chat with the infamous chef Choji Akimichi.

"_He's a nice guy. Though mind what you say. He can get really angry if someone calls him 'fat'. One time when that happened, the doctors had to pull out a stirring spoon from an inmate's ass."_ Chuckling, Naruto shook off a ridiculous imagination from Shikamaru's story he told him on his second day and sat before the whitely-blue haired man.

Beside Suigetsu sat Kiba and Lee, yet another two inmates he met during his stay and spend time with Shikamaru. All these men, including Neji who was on Naruto's left were only some of the ones from Shikamaru's gang.

"So, what's today's special?"

Looking down on his tray, Kiba dipped a spoon inside his food and let it slip through. "Oatmeal."

"Doesn't get better than that," chuckled Suigetsu, poking his food.

"I think it's healthy," proudly exclaimed Lee as he dug his dish.

Smiling, Naruto grabbed his spoon and tasted the hot purple stuff. Despite its flabby looks, it wasn't even half-bad.

Reaching out for another try, Naruto blinked as his porridge suddenly got knocked out of the table and onto the floor.

"Enjoying a meal, Uzumaki?"

Frowning at the hand that suddenly slammed against their table, Naruto looked up at the leaning Kabuto, his gang was still present behind him and his broken bandaged wrist didn't look far better than the previous time he saw it. "Up till now I was."

Kabuto bared his teeth at him. "My…don't we look overconfident today. See that that confidence of yours doesn't get you into a grave faster than I do it myself. Your time is slowly running out, Uzumaki," hissing warningly at the blond in the face, Kabuto looked up as a shadow fell down on them.

"Something you need Yakushi?" asked Shikamaru as he came to stand behind Naruto.

The silver-haired man's mouth twisted into a smirk, "Ahhh…and here comes the proud _owner_ of the latest catch. What's wrong, Nara? Afraid I came to steal away your little bitch?"

Placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder to keep him from jumping up, Shikamaru glared.

"I see you already taught him obedience. You work pretty fast, don't you? I wonder if you already stack your claim on him too?" sniggering at the display before him, Kabuto's smirk turned into a mocking grin, while the other inmates began taking interest in the one-sided conversation.

"Here-here, tell me this." waving Nara over, Kabuto then cupped a hand against his mouth and whispered seemingly in a hushed voice that however could be heard by anyone, "Was he a virgin? Or any good?" the other inmates barked out laughing, making Kabuto's confidence spark and continue on, "Is that sweet little hole of his as tight as ones fantasies take it? Come on, man! Tell us! You did fuck him, didn't you? I think we _all_ have the right to know!" shouting the last words out, Kabuto spread his hands wide as the other inmates gave their support in the matter by cheering and laughing. Turning back to the silent pair, Kabuto shot them a triumphant glint. "I just can imagine how _high_ that feeling went after three whole years of never cheating on your little slu-OOFF…"

That broken sentence was enough for Shikamaru to lose it and slam his fist directly across Kabuto's nose with a pained crack. It also didn't take a second longer for the leading two gangs to loosen their chains and start beating the crap out of each other.

Tables broke, food was tossed and the plates and stools met many faces and backs as inmates used everything within their grasp to beat one another to the ground.

Soon the dining hall was filled with officers who rushed through the other cheering inmates shouting delights over the fight and separated the two gangs with force.

"Pray you don't wake up soon, Yakushi. Cause if you do, I'm going to kill you!" yelled Shikamaru while Naruto tried to pull him away from beaten bleeding and barely conscious Kabuto on the ground.

"F-fuck…y-yo…u…" smirked Kabuto through blooded teeth until he was met with Naruto's foot to the face and blacked out.

…

15:55

"After our talk, that if I may remind you was not but a few daytimes ago, I was hoping not to meet with you again this soon, Mr. Uzumaki."

"Please forgive my interposition, sir." bowing his head in front of the warden, Naruto remained in that stance even as he continued, "I am fully aware of the current situation going about, but, please, before executing your final judgment, I plead you grant Shikamaru Nara pardon. It was my fault he got involved within the fight, despite Kabuto's provocation."

Sighing, Sarutobi leant back in his chair and chewed on his pipe as he stared at the young-blond. "Yes, I'm well aware of Mr. Yakushi's part in the matter," _'If only it wasn't as predictable already.'_ "Though provocations or not, that was no reason for Mr. Nara to act this drastically and raise a fight. Words are meaningless; he should be smart enough to realize it on his own.  
I find your way of honesty fairly justified Mr. Uzumaki, nevertheless, Mr. Nara has crossed the borders. And for that he must pay the consequences that come with it."

Frowning inwardly, Naruto then said, "He defended me. It was me Kabuto came after, basically making me the perpetrator. If it wasn't for Nara, I would probably be in the infirmary now…if not dead." _'Damn, I sound like a sissy. Fucking slacker, he'll owe me big time!'_

"Dead?" Sarutobi's ears perked at that, "Are you insinuating that Mr. Yakushi came in possession of a cold weapon?"

'_Gotcha.'_ Smirking to himself, Naruto recalled his memory when after knocking Kabuto unconscious, he placed a dagger, he got during the fight from one of the inmates, carefully behind Kabuto's pants' straps. However, despite the already gained advantage, he decided to linger long enough to make his part of the story seem as clear to the innocent guiltlessness as possible.

Biting his lip, he purposely faked a concerned expression as he glanced away and to the floor, as if thinking of a reconsideration to his sudden words.

"Naruto. I know you are new to all this and the thought of being a teller scares you, but you must also know that holding in on information from me…_any_ information concerning this prison and its inmates can get you in deep trouble. Do you understand?"

Giving a reluctant nod, Naruto fidgeted and stared at his feet, waiting for the called time he'll be the cause of Kabuto's judgment.

"Good. Now then. Are you ready to speak the truth?"

"Yes, sir." whispered the mentally grinning blond. _'Farewell Kabuto.'_

…

16:30

Entering the bruised inmate filled infirmary halls, separating its main room from awaiting halls with glass walls, two correctional officers – Asuma Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake – quickly spotted the unconscious form of Kabuto Yakushi and walked in.

"Is there a problem gentlemen?" wary, Sakura quickly looked up from one of the other inmates she had to treat that day due to another one of their reckless fights, and walked over to them.

"Just a simple verification, Miss Haruno. Nothing to concern yourself with." casually informed Kakashi while Asuma went over to Kabuto and started checking him for weapons.

"A dirty rat," silently hissed Asuma as he pulled out a sharpened yet delicately bandage covered weapon from within Kabuto's dressed pants.

The clear delight showing on Asuma's face after finding the sharp object reminded Kakashi how he's been practically carving for Yakushi's ass to get busted, for he always managed to escape them with clean hands.

"Got 'im." smirked Asuma.

…

19:09

Hearing his cell doors being locked opened, Naruto smiled and stood up as his cellmate was led in and freed from his handcuffs.

Staring at each other until their cell-room was closed and the guards gone, Shikamaru walked over to the blond and gripped his shoulder. "I'm not sure why you did what you did…, but…thank you."

Smirking, Naruto patted him on the chest, "I'll tell you why."

…

01:09

Brushing angry sweat from his forehead, Shikamaru glared at the blond sitting by the bars. "Remind me again?"

Chuckling, Naruto looked at him, "Hm…did you honestly expect me to do all the work on my own? If I'm to tangle you along then fill your part, lazy-drag. Besides, you owe me for busting your ass out of the isolator."

"Tch!" snorting, Shikamaru turned back to work on the last annoyingly remaining screws.

…

17:08

Walking through the opened doors and back in the prison, Naruto smirked as he heard two of the inmates he passed whisper to themselves about Kabuto's isolation. Rumors have it that he's to spend two full months inside the isolation ward, despite his injuries.

'_How unfortunate.'_ shaking his head, Naruto sighed and prepared to walk up the stairs to his cell… when suddenly a familiar glint caught his wide eyes. Slowly he turned around to stare at his blue necklace hanging innocently around a familiar 'raven's' neck.

'_Son of a bitch!'_

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Huge thanx to:_ saya420, sousie, Naruto00, Savagehunger47, seto'swifey, afallenheart, -siarafaerie-101-miss, BonneNuit, narubby23, Stoic-Genius, xxDarkKitsunexx & Felnore! XDD


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 5**_

_**

* * *

**_

Seething with rage, Naruto grit his teeth as he left the railings and started towards the raven-haired bastard who stole his precious necklace.

Despite his seeming preoccupation while talking to some kind of a longhaired blond and a slick-haired silver-head, the dark-haired man was well aware of Naruto's advances, if his arrogant smirk towards Naruto was any signification to that.

'_Asshole! Does he even realize that I'm about to break his neck?'_

"There you are, Naru-chan!"

Naruto gasped in abrupt startle as he was suddenly grabbed around the waist and hoisted over someone's shoulder, being carried back outside. "Shikamaru's been looking for your naughty ass all over the place. Well ain't I lucky to get to it first?"

Forgetting all about his current goal and missing the way the raven-haired man shot a nasty glare towards his captor, Naruto sure as hell didn't miss the way his now distinguished captor patted his ass before pinching it.

"Fuck! Cut it out, Suigetsu!" screamed the blond and slammed a hand against the whitely-blue hair's back.

"AAhh! You're so mean!" nearly dropping the blond from the pain, Suigetsu still managed to hold him still and hoisted him further up his shoulder, making Naruto come face to…flesh with his ass. "Enjoy the view why don't you."

"You pervert! Get me down before I bite off a chunk of your '_view_'!"

"Now-now, let's not get too excited Blondie. I know you're secretly craving me, but you'll just have to wait until we're all alone." playfully teased Suigetsu and grunted as another hand came slamming on top of him.

"Like hell you'll be!" hissed Shikamaru and grabbed Naruto right before he could bite Suigetsu in the 'other cheek' as promised.

"Killjoy!"

…

21:29

As night approached and sky darkened, a loud signal soon rang throughout the whole courtyard and all prisoners were called to leave the grounds and go back to their cells.

"'Night everyone!"

"Bye Naru-chan!"

"Hn."

"Later guys!" yelled Kiba as he, Neji, Suigetsu and Lee retreated back in the prison.

"Whatever," nonchalantly grumbled Shikamaru and slid a hand around Naruto's shoulders, slowing him long enough to stay behind the others.

Finally ditched by the others and able to freely speak his mind, Naruto turned to his 'boyfriend'. "I found my necklace."

Arching a dark brow, Shikamaru looked over Naruto's chest in question, "And? Where is it?"

"As you can see not on me," hissed the displeased blond, recalling a certain smug bastard's smirk. "It's currently in another inmate's possession."

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

"Okay… Any insinuations?"

"Hmph. He's tall. Has long dark hair, tied in a loose tail; black/red eyes; and strange-…"

"…-markings across the cheeks," Shikamaru seemed familiar with the man's description all too well, seeing that he finished the sentence himself. "That's Itachi Susanoo. A sly man. Smart, competitive, well skilled and very dangerous. Stay away from him."

Naruto blinked at the quickly laid out background added by a direct warning. "Well I can't stay away from him now. He has my fucking necklace, for pit'sake!"

"Forget it," Shikamaru hissed in warning; grabbing Naruto's hand, he pulled him after himself into the prison, "If something comes within his possession and is adapted to his liking he'll keep it forever. Even if he suddenly decides to give it back to you, which is mostly unlikely, don't expect it to come out freely. You'll have to give something in return. And his price is always high."

"But it's my necklace! He knows it. He stole it from me!" Naruto protested and glared even harder as his eyes abruptly caught that longhaired blond the raven was previously talking to, staring at him from his spot against the first-storey bars.

The man smirked and winked at him. Before Naruto could flip him off, Shikamaru yanked him up the stairs.

"Lost and found is not stolen, Naruto. Haven't life taught you anything? Damn, man, are you really a sniper?"

"Tsk! Shut up! That…_man_ took that what rightfully belongs to _me_!"

Sighing, the thief pushed Naruto into their cell. "Not anymore."

Crossing his arms, Naruto set on his bed and glared at the other who went to clean his hands. "I'm still gonna get it back."

"Geez, Naruto… It's just one necklace. I'll buy you ten more like that one, if it makes you happy. So get over it."

"I don't want ten others. I want the one that's _mine_."

"Why are you so worked up over it?"

"None of your business!"

Trying not to palm his face, Shikamaru turned the tap of the sink off and glared at the blond. He did respect and understood the fact that that necklace was precious to Naruto in some twisted-historical way if he was ready to go to such heights so as to retreat it back, yet still… "You're stubborn! I'm telling you to forget it!"

Naruto's eyes glinted, "Who are you to order me around, Nara? This is not your business to deal, let alone your problem. I'm _getting_ my necklace back, be it with or without bloodshed. You have no say in it."

Shikamaru stared as the blond's eyes flashed with immense determination. Sighing, he shook his head, "You don't know what you're getting yourself into Naruto. Susanoo is not a forgiving man."

"Neither am I."

…

08:11

Already fully dressed, Naruto lay on his bed as he started at the mattress above him, waiting almost patiently for the sound that'll open the doors and he'll be able to get his hands around someone's neck.

Sneaking a hand under his pillow, he pulled out one of the screws and stared at its sharp edge. _'Weapon you say huh…'_ courteous to his cellmate's words, Naruto placed the sharp object in his pocket and stood up as the signal rang and the cells were opened.

…

08:32

Keeping his hands in his pockets, Naruto glared as he slowly neared his located destination and subconsciously fingered the sharp object inside his right pocket.

Catching the long since awaited blond approaching, Itachi's eyes glinted and he glanced at his cellmate, who merely smirked and exited their cell.

Seeing a smirking blue-haired man exit, Naruto gripped the screw tighter and boldly entered the cell, coming to stand in front of the Susanoo who was casually leaning against the top bunk.

Itachi's brow arched in questioning interest, "To whom do I own the pleasure of this little visit?"

"A crystal shaped topaz hanging around your neck." evenly answered Naruto, tightening his hand around the screw.

The man's lips twitched upwards. "Aa… Seems it was only a matter of time once you came after it."

Trying to stay careful, Naruto nodded, "Indeed. May I please have it back?" he asked politely, silently waiting for the man to mock him, laugh at him or even arch a brow at him after those words, though Naruto was not expecting to receive neither.

"Hn," smirking, the man suddenly unhooked the jewel and hung it around Naruto's neck. "Here you go."

'…_? …? …What?'_ Naruto was surprised, the man didn't even ask a thing in exchange. Forgetting all about caution, Naruto slipped his hand out of his pocket and gripped his necklace, checking if it was really his. "Like that huh… You're just gonna give it to me?"

"That's right."

'_Hm. I can simply thank him and turn away, …but…'_ but the man's sly smile and its close resemblance to the way Shikamaru tried to play him with those same words restrained Naruto to do so. _'Talk about déjà vu.'_ "If I leave this cell right now I know you're gonna come back looking for me for a debt repayment." _'Because it's always like that. They say you owe them nothing, but in the end it turns out to be a debt for life. Tch…I hate morals.'_

Itachi arched an innocently amused brow, "Whatever makes you say that?"

'_You're laughter of a voice does it flawlessly.'_ Naruto sneered to himself, but ignored the question as he asked one of his own, "What's the catch?"

"Catch, little fish?" the man's lips twitched slightly, "There is none." _'For you've already been caught.'_

"I don't believe you." said Naruto with a glare. "You don't look like a type of a man who supports beneficence. What is it that you hope to get from me?"

Smirking, Itachi reached out and fingered a small lock of blond hair by Naruto's left-ear. _'You're prudent.'_ "I see that you've already been enlightened of this prison's basic principles: …there are no givers."

'_If a familiar slacker has anything to do with this information.'_ Naruto thought in his head, shivering involuntarily as Itachi slight tugged on his hair before letting it go.

Pocketing his hands, the raven tilted his head to the side, lowering his eyes to stare at the blond's scarred cheeks. "You're partly right. I don't support beneficence. However, I do support a favorable equivalence. Tit for tat. I believe it's only fairly justified… seeing that I returned your necklace."

'_Justified? Prisoners don't know such things as justice.'_ Naruto's eyes narrowed deeply while the man continued.

"But whatever my demand may hold, I'm going to let you figure it out on your own."

"Why not simply state it already?" the blond grit out, getting impatient and slightly unnerved by the man's calm composure.

"Hmm… it's more entertaining that way. But don't linger too long, I'm not very patient."

'_That bastard. Even for a stupid rock on a string he still expects me to give something for him? He doesn't deserve shit! Talk about sly. Shikamaru was right.'_ Hiding his inner tremor, Naruto played along, "Alright…let's say I agree to the terms. But what if I don't come up with the answer till then?"

Leaning closer, Itachi whispered into the other's ear, "Then we'll just have to see what happens then."

Frowning at him, Naruto nearly jumped as his name was suddenly called.

"Uzumaki. You have a visitor." grumbled Asuma outside Susanoo's cell as he walked pass.

Nodding towards the exit, Itachi's smooth voice brought Naruto back to attention, "Go."

Snorting at him, Naruto quickly left the raven's presence and went after Asuma, though before that, he stopped by the doors and glanced back. "By the way: I owe you _nothing_."

Coming to stand by the entrance, Itachi smirked as he placed his elbow against the bars and stared after the retreating blond. _'The moment you came to me…you already did.'_

…

08:58

Meeting eyes with purple blue, Naruto quickly came to a halt and looked around to make sure there were no Sasukes lurking behind his brother's back.

Chuckling at that, Kyuubi beckoned him to come and greet him.

Sighing, Naruto did so and entwined his hands around his brother's shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

"Since my previous visit got interrupted by Kusanagi, I decided to come and meet you again." Pulling the blond over to one of the empty tables, Kyuubi skipped a glance at the guards by the far doors and then turned back to his brother. "How far are you?"

Understanding the question as the one concerning his breakout plot, Naruto sighed in irritation, "Near the start. My cellmate turned out to be of a major hindrance."

"That's to be expected." nodded Kyuubi. "After all, you two share a room."

"Aa." putting all needless discussion for later, Naruto turned serious. "His name's Shikamaru Nara. Twenty years old. Claims to be confined for thievery. Five years; two left. His girlfriend is Ino, no further info on her aside the looks."

Taking in all the gathered background information on the person Kyuubi momentarily understood as the one to be tagged along (or otherwise known as a meddling threat that's to be dealt with), he questioned further, "What's his status?"

"Has good connections with inmates and is the leader of one of the gangs. Members come from small caliber. Most of them are thieves and robbers; none's sentenced for more than seven years. That's the least I could find out."

"Nothing but a minor hitch."

Shaking his head at Kyuubi's conclusion, Naruto frowned and entwined his fingers to prop his chin. "Hardly. He's strong…and very smart."

Narrowing his eyes, Kyuubi absorbed his twin for a silent minute before he leant back in his seat and asked with emotionless gaze. "When are you planning to kill him?"

Naruto's eyes turned up to meet his cold brother's.

…

10:45

Keeping his gaze down on the trod out grass of the courtyard, Naruto strolled along and headed for the benches, ignoring constant looks he received from other gangs and inmates he passed.

"Why so down?"

Turning his head to the side, Naruto looked up at smiling Kiba and some dark-haired man walking beside him with expressionless face and black-glasses; the two decided to string along with him over to their usual spot.

"I didn't sleep well," simply brushed off the blond and looked once more at the unknown man.

Catching the lack of introductions, Kiba grinned and pointed towards the other, "This is Shino Aburame. My roomy. Mind you, he's not very talkative."

Stopping long enough to shake the offered hand, Naruto nodded and introduced himself.

As soon as the three made their way towards the already occupied benches, Naruto turned to Shikamaru who narrowed his eyes at him, "Where've you been this long?"

Smirking, Naruto arched a brow, "What…worried?" he asked and reached a finger to tug out a black string from his shirt, intentionally showing it to Nara and silently saying that he got what he wanted.

Sighing in both relief and disturbance, Shikamaru still smirked and pulled the blond into his lap.

Soon the other usual members from Nara's gang joined them and Naruto was met with yet another person from it: Juugo – Suigetsu's cellmate. The man was older than the rest, his hair was uncharacteristically orange and his height was higher than that of officer Gai. Despite all that, he was slightly mental and advisable no to fuck around with.

Sighing, Naruto leant his head against Shikamaru's shoulder, while the lazy-one bent to whisper by his ear. "How did you get it back?" he asked, tugging on the black string.

Smacking lightly on the hand touching his necklace, Naruto said, "He gave it to me."

Naruto felt the brunet stiffen slightly. "He just gave it back to you?"

"Aa. But don't think too much, he still expects me to return the favor."

"So I've guessed…. What he wants?"

"I don't know. Tells me to figure it out myself. But that doesn't mean that I'm actually going to give him anything. Besides, I don't think I'll be sticking around for too long to even find that out."

"Are you intentionally trying to dig yourself more trouble than necessary?" Tired of arguing with him, Shikamaru dropped his forehead against the shrugging blond's shoulder and sighed. "You just like it the hard way, don't you?"

"Turns out that you don't know me so well," grinned Naruto.

"Hm."

…

10:49

"You just gave it back to him?" watching the blond-haired boy tug out a black string from his shirt, Kisame looked over to his cellmate. "How unusual for you. I thought you're gonna use the advantage."

"All in due time, Kisame." Leaning against the benches situated closest to the prison building, Itachi silently absorbed the interaction between Nara and Uzumaki across the yard. "Right now, I don't want him to feel pressured."

"First consciousness and now compassion? That's not you, man." Getting a glare for his efforts, Kisame shot his hands up, "Not to be meant as a bad thing of course."

"Of course…" turning away from the grinning blue-haired, Itachi looked over to the opposite benches and slightly scowled as he saw his blond interest in Nara's hands.

Sighing, Kisame ran a hand through his spiked hair. "You do realize that he's not going to keep his end of the bargain, right?"

'_Not that there actually was any bargain to begin with. Not a bipartite one at least.'_ Smirking, Itachi shook his head, "I know. I just want to see if he's actually bold enough to do so. Nara's probably already told him about every inmate there is to keep his guard and distance from. Though it seems the young one doesn't like to listen."

…

12:04

Laughter and foolishness was soon interrupted as officer Might Gai intervened in Nara's gang's muss.

"Mr. Nara!" Looking up at loud, spring-overfilled annunciation, the gang turned to the grinning officer. "It's time for your private visit."

Smacking Suigetsu for his idiotic whistles and catcalls, Shikamaru went after the officer.

As the two disappeared, Lee looked over at Naruto with a sympathetic look in his black eyes. "You ok?"

In turn, Naruto frowned and arched a questioning brow at the other's strange behavior. "Why you ask?"

Piping in, Kiba rubbed his neck as he cleared, "Well…you know…, watching the way Shikamaru is going to meet his girlfriend while leaving you behind…?"

'_Ah…they think I'm jealous, since Nara's supposed to be my boyfriend.'_ Laughing to himself, Naruto shrugged indifferently, "It doesn't bother me."

"Really?"

"Hm. Mine and Shikamaru's relationship is nothing other than a small fling tossed between desire and lust of two inmates." Stretching out on the bench, Naruto looked up at the clouded sky as he went through easy lies. "Anyways, I don't think it's any different from the way all of you feel when one of your cellmates head for their visit."

"Feel…for our cellmates? What do you mean by that?" frowned Kiba.

Smirking, Naruto looked at him knowingly, "I'm now more than certain that you've all done it with your own roomies."

Suigetsu chocked on air while Kiba spluttered and blushed.

…

12:23

Entering the private room provided with nothing other than a soft bed, a table and night lamp, Shikamaru walked over to the steal grid window and waited for the doors to open.

After some time, the lock was picked and one of the officers led in a blond-haired girl.

Turning around, Nara smiled as his girlfriend Ino walked over to him and hugged him tightly. As the doors closed behind them, she turned her head and kissed him longingly.

"Hey."

"Hi."

Smirking at their usual greeting exchange, Shikamaru rubbed circles on Ino's back as he then asked, "How did you get here?"

Smiling, Ino had to mention only one name to drive Shikamaru in fury, "Sai. He drove me here."

"_Sai_?" the brunet nearly exploded with venomous shout. Shikamaru hated Sai, because he thought that he was going all friendly with his girlfriend just to steal her away from him.

Sighing, Ino kissed her boyfriend to assure him that he has nothing to worry about. "He's just my friend, Shik'. He's trying to be nice."

"_Of course_ he is." sardonically retorted Shikamaru while the blond girl chuckled at his jealousy.

"Don't worry. I love you, not him."

"I know that. But that still doesn't mean that that's a good enough reason for me to start liking him."

"Fair enough."

Sighing irritably, Shikamaru shook his head from all mental images of the Sai guy and smiled at his girlfriend; pulling her over to sit on the bed, he then said, "Ino… There's something I need to tell you."

…

18:19

Standing in line to get dinner, Naruto leant close to the 'slacker' and cautiously whispered out, "I need something that could attenuate masonry."

Frowning, Shikamaru wondered, "Chemicals?"

"Preferably."

"There's a Toxic Control Center in between the first and the second sector of the prison."

"That would do. By the way, why would prison have something like that in the first place?"

"In case there's an accident within the prison or the walls, like after-flame effects, decay or corrosives, inmates are placed to do the dirty work in place of the owners, thus providing us with all necessary gadgets, including chemicals, to get the dump cleaned."

"How can I get inside that Center?"

Pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, Shikamaru handed it to Naruto. "His name's Hayate. You can't miss him, he coughs a lot. Just flash him a pack of these and he'll get you in."

Without another word, Naruto left the dining hall.

…

00:01

Poking out their small square mirror through the bars, Shikamaru made sure all walks on their storey were clear, while Naruto squatted down before the unscrewed sink and gently pushed it away from the wall, disabling all hooked rubber and plastic pipes aside to reveal a cinder block wall.

Taking one of the long screws, Naruto ran it over the still wet concrete mass between the wide cinder blocks and smirked as small bits easily crumbled against the metal and fell down.  
After getting the masonry cleaner from the Control Center, Naruto went back to their cell and splashed the quick-acting chemical on the wall, that way getting the wanted result of easy-work.

…

00:43

After some time, it was deemed enough. Unable to dig the concrete out further than the screws length, Naruto put the screw aside and brushed his dusty hands against his pants. _'Let's hope it's enough to kick through.'_ "Shikamaru. I need noise."

"What?" confused, Shikamaru pulled the mirror back in and looked at Naruto warily.

"I'm going to kick the wall out. And I need you to make me some noise to muffle it down."

"Really… I thought you were supposed to be the screamer in our relationship."

"Not that, you idiot!" hissed the embarrassed blond.

Chuckling, Shikamaru shook his head and leant more comfortably against the wall by the bars. "Yo! Suigetsu!" he screamed through the whole sector and grinned as a 'the fuck you want' was shouted out from somewhere to their left.

Naruto arched a brow in amused interest, wondering what Nara had in mind.

"Sing something!" simply said Shikamaru, making Suigetsu react…negatively,

"FUCK YOU IN THE ASS, NARA!"

"Shouting ain't even remotely close to singing, Hozuki."

"I Said FUCK And YOU! I Ain't Singing Shit!"

"OH-OH! Tobi Knows A Song!" suddenly someone else shouted from their right and started singing. "_Sweat Baby Sweat Baby sex is a Texas drought Me and You do the kind of stuff that only Prince would sing about, So put your hands down my pants and I'll bet you feel nuts, Yes I'm sisco, yes I'm…-_"

It wasn't long for the first inmate to finally lose it…,

"SHUT UP!" as one lost it they all lost it as all inmates went ballistic and started screaming in outrageous burst.

Getting the noise he wanted and more, Naruto turned back to the wall and propped his elbows against the floor; with a hard swing of his foot, he began kicking the block out of its loosened place.

As the guy Tobi sang even louder, the rile rose up even higher. "Come On Homies! Sing Along! _You and Me Baby ain't nothin' but mammals so let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel, Do it again now!_"

With a few more forceful kicks, Naruto finally broke through to the other side, just in time for the floor alarm to go off and officers enter the chaos.

Stopping in the middle of the sector, Asuma shouted out silencing the racket, "QUIET IT UP! The Next Inmate To Open His Mouth Gets A Free Trip Inside The Icebox!"

As everything quickly calmed down, Shikamaru peeked down to see the officers head back; picking up the mirror, he made sure none's on their storey before turning to the blond.

Meeting eyes with Shikamaru, Naruto smirked as he gazed back at the illuminating hole.

… … …

_

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_A/N_

_!  
__I named Itachi after one of his techniques – __The Susanoo (God of the Sea and Storms technique);  
__I did so because I needed to separate him from Sasuke, for they're not related here…sorry._  
_Sasuke's last name is – Kusanagi (the name of his sword).  
__Anyway, I hope ya don't mind…;)_

_Thanks ta:_ Naruto00, Felnore, CorruptedCharlie, saya420, neko raccoon, seto'swifey, Stoic-Genius, Savagehunger47, dragonzice, narubby23, YaoiYuriLover, Tuuna, Narutopokefan, RandomKleenex & TheDeviant! XD

_Reply:_ Felnore – …umm, nope… I haven't mentioned the Uchiha name previously. Itachi & Sasuke's surnames revealed only now;))

_Song by: Bloodhound Gang – the bad touch_

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	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 6**_

* * *

Taking the first peek inside the prison's bowels, Naruto crawled through the small hole and into a narrow yet extensive service corridor, sprawled with metal catwalks and pipes in every direction.

Wondering around the stretching corridor and listening cautiously to his surroundings, Naruto pushed his way up the thin metallic stairs and onto the catwalks. Turning a few corners down the catwalks, he soon found the access leading to the roof, and from that point he started to chant.

'_Upside the cat, down to the left, go straight for the walk and find yourself that wall.'_ Mentally recalling the memorized map that would lead him to the 'x' destination, Naruto smirked as he came to a dead end dwarfed by a massive cement wall. _'Found ya.'_

Climbing down the stairs, Naruto looked around the wide space. A huge dusty shelf and a table were situated in the far corner, while some kind of broken metal poles and long two-by-fours were discarded all over the floor. _'Must be where the useless gibberish is placed.'_ Approached the blank wall, Naruto ran his hand over its rough surface and gently tapped it, listening as it gave an inner echo in places closest to the center.

Taking out an earlier unused screw from his pocket, Naruto marked the places where the sound gave deeper echoes from the ones that stayed firm.

…

01:27

Checking the time on his watch, Shikamaru heaved an anxious sigh and started passing his cell, waiting for the blond to finally get back.

Suddenly he heard the entrance doors being open and night guards walk in.

"Fuck." Grabbing a mirror, Shikamaru tapped it against the sink.

…

01:28

Marking the center of the wall with one final carve that altogether aligned the shape of an 'x', Naruto quickly turned around as echoes of something tapping against the metal sounded through the corridors. _'Shikamaru.'_ recognizing it as his cellmate's silent warning for him to get back, Naruto quickly stuffed the screw back in his pocket and ran up the stairs.

…

01:31

Sliding down the catwalks and turning on the fifth corridor corner, Naruto suddenly froze in place as he came face to back with a maintenance worker's back.

'_Shit!'_

…

01:30

Lantern lights started to appear down their storey as night-guards came up the stairs.

"Shit," cursing, Nara quickly grabbed a pillow from his bed and stuffed it under Naruto's sheets, making it seem as if he's there and sleeping.

…

01:31

Standing still behind the man, who apparently stopped in there just to enjoy a long drug from his rolled up cannabis, Naruto felt sweat poured down his face in rivers as he slowly backed away and hid himself behind the corner.

"Hm?" feeling presence of another, the man quickly turned around to see no one there. Still suspicious, he marched over to look around the corner and down the corridor, it was empty. Glancing at the weed he was smoking, thinking of its influence getting to him, the man scowled and flicked it to the side.

As the grumbling man left to do his duties, Naruto jumped down from the upper catwalks, he had previously attached himself to save his skin, and made sure once again that all halls were clean before running off.

…

01:34

Hearing the sink being pushed aside, Shikamaru quickly rose from his bed to see Naruto climb out. "Naruto, you-…"

But before he could finish his…whatever, he went pale as the night officer stepped before their cell and flashed his lantern onto Naruto's back. "What are you doing there, Uzumaki?"

Making it just in time to fix the sink in a way to conceal the hole from the guard's eyes, Naruto still didn't manage to push it till the very wall as his hands stayed glued to its sides.

"Turn around!" ordered the guard.

Naruto's teeth clenched, he couldn't do that, he was basically holding up a side of the sink from the floor; if he's to place it down, it'll be heard immediately.

The guard's keys jingled and the officer prepared to open the cell.

Thinking quick, Naruto grimaced and, without anyone's notice, suddenly shoved two fingers down his throat, forcefully vomiting out all his stored contents.

"What a…? Shit!" cursing, the guard quickly went to open the gates in quick haste, and while doing so he distracted himself far enough for Naruto to use the muffling sound of the keys and push the sink till the wall while he doubled over in pain.

"I'm sorry s-sir," he wheezed shakily, "I don't think I feel too well." To prove his point he vomited once more.

Amazed by the blond's performance, Shikamaru quickly jumped from his bed to help Naruto not only from falling down on his knees, but basically to get him as far away from the sink as possible.

By luck did the officer miss the formed lump in Naruto's bed as his gazed stayed fixed on the blond inmate. Calling back to his partner, the night-guard ordered him to call out to infirmary, "Kotetsu. Inform the sickbay, we have an ill case."

"Roger."

Hoisting the acting dazed blond's arm around his shoulders, the night guard glanced back at Shikamaru and ordered him to clean the cell up, meaning the blond's mess.

Watching Naruto get taken away and his cell doors locked close, Shikamaru finally allowed himself to breathe. _'That guy is putting me through more pressure than an electric shock.'_

…

01:52

"Place him on the bed." Pulling on her lab coat and fixing her hair, Haruno stepped over to the trembling blond and placed a hand on his forehead. "He's burning up." checking his heartbeats, Haruno gazed at her assistant. "Hinata. Get me the sedative." Turning then to the two night guards, she ordered them to leave the room as she prepared to work on her patient.

…

02:55

Taking deep intakes and calm exhales, Naruto slowly lidded his eyes open and looked over to his left, where the purple haired nurse was scribing something down on her notepad. "…Please," he rasped out, quickly getting her attention, "…can you…open the window? …I need…fresh air."

Smiling, the woman stood from her chair and walked over to ajar the grid window and let the air in.

"…thank you…"

"How are you feeling?" coming over to him, she checked his temperature. As strange as it was to her, he seemed perfectly fine, except the deep roughness in his voice.

"A bit sore in my throat…" grinned Naruto, "…but otherwise okay. I guess I ate something real bad."

"So it would seem." Standing from her desk, Sakura smiled as she put away her assistance notes and took off her coat. "You have a very strong body, Mr. Uzumaki. Despite your intoxication, you're recovering pretty fast."

"Nah… I would rather say it's not as much my body's strength as the professional help of two beautiful ladies I got." Getting both women to blush, Naruto chuckled and hissed as his throat stung a little.

"You should get some rest. We're going to leave you here for the night, since the drug is still taking its effect on you. But don't worry, if there is anything you need don't hesitate to voice it out. Izumo and Kotetsu here shall help you. They'll be looking after you overnight." Nodding his head as Sakura and Hinata rose from their seats to leave the medical room, Naruto looked over at the two night-guards sitting by the entrance and lay back on the hospital mattress.

…

03:19

Keeping eyes closed and ignoring the night-guards' silent whispers nearby, Naruto counted the time in his head as he listened to the sounds coming from outside the opened window.

'…_19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24…'_ a jingle of keys suddenly sounded below the window and Naruto smirked, _'19minutes and 24seconds.'_

…

13:22

Getting escorted back to his cell, Naruto looked at the top bunk to see Shikamaru sitting on it and flipping aimlessly through the bible.

"I don't know whether to be relieved or pissed." the 'slacker' frowned at his cellmate.

Smiling, Naruto plopped down on his bed, "I like the first one better."

"I'm sure you do…" jumping from his bed, Nara leant his hands against his bed while he gazed down on the resting blond. "What did the doc say?"

"They think I had slight indigestion is all. Though that still didn't stop them from drugging me with sedatives."

"Hm… You're pretty good with your facade, you know that?" Crawling onto the blond's bed, Shikamaru lay between Naruto's bent legs and rested his head against his grumbling stomach. "Hungry?"

"I've been deprived from food for hours, what do you think?" grumbled the pouting blond.

Chuckling, Shikamaru sneaked his hands under the blond's pants-legs and squeezed his shanks.

Naruto momentarily jumped, "The Hell! Cut it out!"

Still sniggering to himself, Nara kept his hands in their places as he continued running them over the blond's leg. "This little play we have going here is seriously starting to get to me."

"I can tell." Grabbing a thin piece of hair from Shikamaru's combed hair, Naruto pulled it out, making the brunet flinch and pinch his leg.

"By the way, I got some interesting news." Pulling out another hair-string from Nara's hair for that pinch, Naruto smirked as the brunet snatched his hands and placed them over his chest, keeping them still.

"What kind of news?"

Glancing over to the entrance, Naruto whispered out, "Once we get inside the infirmary, we'll have 19minutes to get down the wires and over the wall…, because then it's a time limit when the guards come checking the area."

"I see your stay in the infirmary had another motive other than that of a sick patient. You were listening when the guards passed the infirmary window, which I have no doubt you managed to get opened somehow."

"Ah… Looks like Nara has some senses in this head of his other than those of being a lazy pervert." playfully teased Naruto, mindlessly wondering whenever had he gotten so friendly with the brunet.

Shikamaru smirked, "Don't assume so fast, fish, you've seen nothing yet."

"Of course, I forgot to add your prudent ego at that."

Slapping the blond lightly on the leg, Shikamaru turned his head to look at the sink. "May I ask whatever took you so long to get back yesterday night?"

"Ah that… I got sidetracked. Anyways, there's a little problem."

Arching his brow at that, Nara's eyes rolled up to see Naruto's. "What kind of a problem?"

"Timing. There's a six-inch concrete wall I need to break in order for us to get to the sewer. And I can't keep running back and forth if I have to make it back in time for the bed count. It's ridiculous."

Thinking for a minute, Shikamaru then said, "Well…the only time when the count isn't performed is when there's a lockdown. I mean, if you can rile up the inmates far enough to cause disturbance, maybe you'll even get your lockdown."

Frowning in thought, Naruto blinked as his name was suddenly called. "Uzumaki Naruto. To the visiting sector."

"You sure seem to get a lot of visits lately."

Groaning in agreement, Naruto pushed Shikamaru off of him and exited the cell.

…

14:27

As quick as he entered, just as quick Naruto turned around and prepared to run…

"Sit…Down!" but a threatening voice of his unwanted visitor held enough menace in those words for Naruto to do the opposite.

Moaning in unwillingness, the blond turned back and took a reluctant seat across from his black-haired visitor. Mastering then up a nervous grin, he rubbed his neck, "Hey Sasuke. How you've been?"

Ignoring the way Naruto kept making little gaps between himself and the table while looking at him with beaming eyes, Sasuke had to growl, "Your puppy eyes won't help, so stop it. You know very well that I kick all puppies in the ass."

"Insensitive iceberg!"

"Na-ru-to!"

Saving himself the trouble of listening to his lectures, Naruto quickly gave up, "Urgh! I'm sorry ok!"

"Don't even try buying yourself out of this with cheep 'sorry-s'. Damn it Naruto, you just have to stuff your nose in everything."

"It's my job, teme! What did you expect?"

"I expected for you to not get caught, at the very least."

"Well _excuse_ me for not being perfect!"

Finding it useless to reason with him anymore, Sasuke sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Why are you going so far for _him_?"

Naruto didn't like the stress his friend used and snapped back. "He's my brother, Sasuke. I love him. And I already told you _way_ before."

"I still don't understand." trying to wheedle out more info, the lawyer played dumb.

"Geez…for a 'smartass' you're an 'ass' without the prefix 'smart'."

"Shut up! I just don't get why you're sacrificing your whole life for another. You're not the type of guy to-…unless…" suddenly Sasuke seemed to get something as his eyes slight widened.

Catching that look, Naruto groaned and placed more distance from the table. _'Damn it Sasuke, stop reading my mind! God! I hate lawyers. They're too damn knowing and crafty.'_ "Sasuke! Stop thinking so much! You'll get wrinkles!"

"Naruto," placing his palms against the table, Sasuke ignored him as he slowly rose up, "Don't tell me that you're actually planning to…"

"Oh-OH! Look at the time!" suddenly chirped the blond and shot up from his seat, "14:31! Sorry, Sasuke but I'm losing my precious lunch because of you." turning tail, Naruto nearly screamed as Sasuke's hand shot out and grabbed the back of his shirt right before he could get away.

"Oh no you don't!" pulling the blond back, Sasuke scowled at him, "Tell me! Are you really planning to es-…"

Turning quickly around, Naruto literally stuffed his fingers inside Sasuke's mouth and hissed in his face, "SHhh, you Bastard! Are you trying to get me killed?" glancing back at the officers, who seemed too preoccupied by talking to some kind of a lady and her son, Naruto pulled his fingers out of glaring Sasuke's mouth and cleaned them against his black suit.

"Yes, I am." Sitting back in his chair, Naruto massaged his temples while Sasuke frowned and sat across.

"You do realize that if you get caught, they're going to isolate you for years."

"Aa…" nodding, Naruto still smiled, "But what I got to lose? I'm already here for life."

Sighing, Sasuke ran a hand through his dark hair. "Does your father know? He won't be pleased."

"Not yet. Unless he read the media lately…"

"_Unless_ it becomes of a necessity, it's best he didn't. I won't even be so surprised if he suddenly invades this country with tanks and machineguns so as to get your ass out."

The blond sniggered, "Haha…don't remind me. After hearing about Kyuubi's imprisonment, he already prepared to send out the heavy artillery…that is until he found out that he escaped on his own."

Looking carefully at his friend, Sasuke chanced to ask, "What happened to your brother in Suna that has him so riled up over the subject?"

Losing liveliness in his eyes, Naruto turned his gaze elsewhere.

Seeing this, Sasuke was about to apologies for intruding on the personal matter again when suddenly the blond spoke, "He was …that is… they, the jailors…they did _things_ to him no person or even convict should experience. It was not as much an issue with inmates as it was with the prison officials themselves. No inmate was ever left clean as they were all used in ways the officers had seen fit. Even suicide was seen to be prevented, leaving convicts with no hope of escape.

You see… Suna prison was far different from the other prisons. Its system was made on the bases on making the inmates' lives a living terror. An illegal pattern.

…Sexual abuse was but an insignificance against that what they did to Kyuubi daily. Don't ask me for specific details, Sasuke; all there is I can tell is that that prison had done enough deed to leave my brother with a permanent scar. Which I don't want him to live through ever again."

Sasuke felt understanding swell in; finally getting where Kyuubi's character came from. "He wasn't always like that, was he?"

Knowing that the question was meant about Kyuubi's present hollowness and cold attitude in his personality, Naruto set his mouth in a thin line. "Hm…It's no wonder when they say that 'prison changes people', would you not say?"

"Why didn't he write a motion or fill in a report against the violation of human rights?"

Naruto scoffed at the idea, "You think they would actually let something like that get out of their prison and into the hands of the government? Tch… If what they even went so far as to hang each and every inmate who dared go behind their backs seeking help from the authority." laughing humorlessly, Naruto then said, "Of course there were some inmates who managed to get their blooded reports inside the Board of Governors. But alas… who would have guessed that within that very same government were people who had connections with Suna prison and knew of its system…?"

Sasuke's eyes widened with each revealed information Naruto was telling him; it just seemed unreal.

"The six members of the boarder, who knew of Suna prison's harsh system, simply went along with it. They had even snatched all the written reports and sent them straight back to prison officials." _'Fucking faggots!'_ Shaking his head, Naruto smirked, "Though why would anyone care anymore? Suna prison exists no more; its workers had been taken care of by the gang and father personally; and the treacherous six members of the government – killed, save the last one. Hence, is why I'm here now."

"You mean to say. Those five Kyuubi killed, were actually the very same members working for Suna prison?"

"Aa. And as for the last (sixth) member – Danzo, the latest sources state that he had fallen victim to a sudden airplane crash when trying to leave the country a few days ago. Now how could that happen?"

At the blond's lopsided grin, Sasuke had no doubt that he had everything to do with that crash, or at best – Kyuubi and the gang themselves.

Shrugging innocently at Sasuke's scolding look, Naruto mumbled. "How was I supposed to know that fool Danzo was in such a haste to get away that he didn't even give his crew enough time to check the plane and find a strapped bomb hidden beneath the navigation system?"

"Indeed _how_," rolling his eyes, Sasuke leant his mouth on his palm.

Chuckling, Naruto waved at him dismissingly, "Don't be like that. In the end, you see, even though I'm in prison, we still won," winking at him, Naruto then puffed up his cheeks, "Well of course after that _drastic_ accident there was no proof left to convince the higher-authorities of mine and my brother's basic innocence (well maybe not innocence but amnesty perhaps?), since all leading evidence were burned down…literally. But still…that doesn't mean I haven't got a scheme up my sleeve."

Shaking his head, Sasuke still couldn't help the slight twitch up his lips. Despite Naruto and Kyuubi being killers, and their father being the big shot and the head of the mafia, they still had their own twisted (and totally unreasonable) way of justice.

…

21:08

Accompanied by Shikamaru and the rest of the inmates, Naruto entered the shower stalls and glanced over at the ceilings, where rusty pipes and running air-conditioners stretched over the sides.

An idea suddenly hit him and Naruto pulled Shikamaru with him till they came to a more secluded area.

"What is it?" asked Shikamaru.

"I think I have an idea how to aggravate the convicts enough to get a lockdown."

Looking up where Naruto was staring, Shikamaru frowned at the flipping air-ventilator. "You want to disable the air conditioning unit?"

"Since it's already the middle of a hot summer running 30degrees Celsius, I don't think a little more heat would bother anyone."

"Is that a sarcasm?"

Grinning at him, Naruto glanced at the other inmates showering a little bit further from them and turned an unused shower handle open. "Don't hurry yourself to get cleaned; we're going to stay behind." Pulling his towel off, Naruto stepped under the spray.

…

22:07

All the inmates have long since gone back in their cells, save the two who hid themselves away.

Standing up on Shikamaru's shoulders, Naruto tried to pull out one of the rusted and long since useless pipes from its place only for it to squeak loudly as he finally managed to jerk it half the way.

Shikamaru's eyes quickly shot to the exit, trying to listen if anyone heard them. "Naruto, hurry it up!"

"Hold on." whispered Naruto and gripped the pipe back once more. With one final mighty pull he ripped it out of its crumbled place, producing a loud sound of grinding metal.

Flinching at the loud sound, Shikamaru looked back towards the entrance as suddenly the keys jingled and footsteps entered the showers.

"I think it was coming from over here." whispered a familiar guard's voice; it was Kotetsu.

"Naruto…!"

Ignoring the brunet's hissing whispers, Naruto held the pipe tightly in his hands as he reached for the air-conditioner.

"Check the stalls, I'll go over to the baths." echoed voices of the night-guards as they spread apart.

Shikamaru was starting to get agitated. "Naruto! Move it!"

"Shut up already," Naruto snapped back, and finally pushed the pipe forcefully into the vent's system, producing light sparkles that quickly died down along with every spinning air-conditioning vent within the showers. _'That's the first phase. Now the last one is breaking the air-system of prison itself.'_

Cursing, Shikamaru looked back and cursed more as the shadows of the guards started to appear down the corner. "Fuck."

"There! Done." pulling the pipe out of the broken vent and concealing it between the running water pipes, Naruto quickly jumped from Shikamaru's shoulders and happily turned to his cellmate, who was warily looking at the exit.

Catching lights of lanterns flicking around the corner himself, Naruto swore, "Oh crap!"

Not one to freeze in the highlight, Shikamaru quickly grabbed the blond and pushed him against the wall.

"What ar-…" Naruto was barely able to finish as Shikamaru's mouth suddenly descended on his own.

Burying his fingers in the blond's hair, Shikamaru lightly tugged on them, silently warning to act along. The message seemed very clear when he felt Naruto encircle his hands around his shoulders and hook a leg around his waist while giving repeated jerks forward which however started to produce a very disturbing…reaction.

'_Fuck!'_ Shikamaru had to repress a sudden groan. Their thin towels (the only garment they had since still within the showers) and blond's implicit ministrations while rubbing skin on skin started to awaken his most 'troublesome' regions.

Even though it was supposed to be a decent distraction for the guards, Shikamaru couldn't help but get hard. _'Shit-Shit. Hurry it up!'_ he silently hissed to the officers, hoping they'd find them already.

Shikamaru's prayers seemed to be heard as the officers finally turned the corner and barked at them. "Hey! What are you still doing here?"

Pulling away, both gasped for air and looked with a startle at the officers, seemingly surprised.

"Why aren't you in your cells? The signal rang more than minutes ago."

"…aaa…" Naruto opened his mouth while Shikamaru finished for him with a slight gasp,

"We got sidetracked."

"That we can see," smirked Kotetsu.

"Figures," restoring back his portable radio, Izumo sighed and ordered them to get moving.

…

22:42

Watching the doors get locked behind them, Naruto turned to glaring Shikamaru.

"You're gonna be the death of me, Uzumaki."

The blond chuckled, "I'm sorry Shika. The thing was jammed, so I had to linger." Scratching his nape sheepishly, Naruto then nodded sideways towards Nara's visible tent behind his pants. "Are you gonna be alright?"

"Tch," turning him his back, Shikamaru's eyes suddenly glinted in want as they caught the reflection of his cellmate undressing from the small mirror hanging over the sink. Apparently the sly blond was preparing to go to bed with no more consideration of Shikamaru's problem. _'Well like hell I'm giving him that luxury now.'_

"Shikamaru?" finally discarding his shirt, Naruto turned to his cellmate and gasped as he was suddenly grabbed and slammed against the wall near the sink. "What the fuck you doing?"

Pinning the blond's wrist atop of his head, Shikamaru grinned as he leant closer, "Since it's partly your fault I'm now left with a rock hard boner in my pants, you're going to help me get rid of it."

Struggling against the hold, Naruto tried to kick his legs, but Shikamaru stepped between them. "Shikamaru! Get the fuck away from me!"

"No. It's your own fault for being this delectable."

"You said you won't force me."

"I won't." promised Shikamaru and nuzzled his nose in the crook of Naruto's neck. "I just need to feel you close."

Naruto let out a startled gasp as the thief abruptly ground his hard erection against his groin, which attraction however didn't go unnoticed by Naruto's own. "Fuck."

Feeling the blond start to tremble as well as steadily built up under his ministrations, Shikamaru slowly released his wrists and soothed him down with small nips and kisses. Gently gliding his hands down the blond's sides, he gripped his hips tight and pushed his crotch even harder against Naruto's.

"Shit." Throwing his head back, Naruto cursed his treacherous body for reacting and started to move in rhythm with Shikamaru's harsh grinding. "Do something already."

Grabbing the blond's pants, Shikamaru began to pull them down, but a hand quickly grabbed his wrist and he looked up to stare at the blond's wide eyes; despite their previous words and hidden desire they looked scared. Leaning forward, he brushed a few dump bangs from Naruto's forehead. "Why are you afraid?" he asked soothingly. "Are you a virgin?"

Closing his eyes, Naruto swallowed.

Smiling, Shikamaru brushed his lips over shaking boy's cheek and gently whispered. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to do anything you'd regret."

Lidding his eyes back open, Shikamaru had to repress another groan as the blond looked at him hopefully with those sinful blue depths. "Promise?" Naruto hated his own voice, it was pitiful and weak, but the stimulation and body's perfidious ache for the contact turned his mind into a phase of no consideration.

"Promise," nodding, Shikamaru gently kissed Naruto on the lips and gasped as the blond suddenly grabbed his hair and pulled him even closer, plugging his tongue inside his mouth and grounding his nearly erect cock against Shikamaru's own through their pants.

Mopping the other's mouth out, Naruto gave a slight whimper as Shikamaru quickly grabbed his thighs and hoisted him up against the wall.

Encircling Naruto's legs around his waist, Shikamaru pressed on forward and moaned as their clothed cocks came in contact once again with closer proximity.

Naruto's thighs tightened around him forcibly and his whole body flinched; feeling a fission of pleasure go through him with each moment Nara rubbed himself against his crotch.

Turning his head slightly to the side, Shikamaru felt it was time to reclaim his dominance and pushed Naruto's tongue back in his mouth followed by his own, tasting yet again the blond's sweet cavern.

Moaning with need, Naruto tangled his fingers deeper in thief's hair and began grinding against the other faster and with more urgency, needing more friction for that sinful fulfillment.

"Shit," nearly giving away in his knees, Shikamaru broke their kiss and pressed his forehead against Naruto's, getting even more agitated by Naruto's silent whimpers and gasps as he went on.

"…I'm a …mm close," silently moaned Naruto.

"…aa…" no trust left in his voice, Shikamaru grunted and groaned as Naruto suddenly became very vocal,

"…harder, Shika. …Do it harder," he hissed, jerking his head back.

Shikamaru went harder.

Reaching to grip the wall behind himself, Naruto grit his teeth and clenched his eyes tight, trying to find leverage from the building intensity. "…Ah…ah…more…More!"

Clenching the blond's thighs, Shikamaru practically began slamming against him. "Fuck…Naru-to…"

Jerking his hips in brutal synchrony with the other, Naruto opened his eyes to gaze at Shikamaru's lust-filled one's and grabbed his neck before pulling him in a biting kiss.

Growling in the other's mouth, Shikamaru glided his hands higher up Naruto's thighs and gripped his ass, squeezing and ramming much harder and faster against him.

Naruto was finally at his end. Breaking the kiss, he gasped and arched his back high from against the wall as he came with a soundless scream.

Groaning at the sight displayed before him, Shikamaru lost all remains of control as he followed Naruto in two more grinds and emptied his load inside his pants as well.

Gasping and wheezing, both fell to their knees. Shikamaru hissed as Naruto landed on his lap, with him still being close and held by his arms.

"… …Shi-…-ka-…"

"Shh…" placing his chin on gasping Naruto's head resting on his chest, Shikamaru encircled his hands around the shivering body's waist and pulled him close. "You don't have to say anything."

Nodding, Naruto gripped Shikamaru's damp shirt and sighed unevenly.

Kissing his forehead, Shikamaru whispered a silent murmur which closely sounded like a 'thank you', though Naruto couldn't tell since his eyelids dropped and he fell into an exhausted slumber.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Not much of an 'action' between Shikamaru & Naruto (since it really ain't a story 'bout them), but I hope it was ok for those of ya who like the pair & wanted for them to…do stuff;))_

_Thank ya:_ narubby23, animewannabe13, saya420, sousie, Naruto00, Felnore, seto'swifey, RandomKleenex, chibinaru-sama, dashllee, CorruptedCharlie, Stoic-Genius & Savagehunger47! XDD

_Replies:  
_RandomKleenex – it should remind ya of PrisonBreak XD 'Cause the majority of this story is based on Prison Break, that's why I added the note of not owning it in the 1st chp.;))

narubby23 – nah…I ain't abandoning 'How does it feel to be alive':) I guess I just got a little bit sidetracked by 'Breaking the confinement' & it pushed me away from the other=/ Anyhow, I'm slowly finishing the next chp. for the long story & hope to update it soon too;))  
I'm really glad ya like it:D


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 7**_

* * *

09:15

Hearing obscure whispers going close around him, Naruto groaned and tried to bury his face deeper into the warm yet hard comforter resting underneath him. The said 'comforter' suddenly seemed to still its whispers and smoothly began running lazy circles around his aching back.

"Naruto…"

"…nn…"

"Naru-Chan…wake up…"

Opening his eyes, Naruto blinked his blurry vision out and turned his face high enough to stare at dark-blacks of his cellmate. "Hm?"

"How you feeling?" silently asked Shikamaru.

"Mmm…" closing his eyes, Naruto brought his elbows up and buried his face in them. "…Go'way'…'le'me'sleep…"

Arching a brow, amused pale eyes turned to regard the smirking thief, who was currently lying in Naruto's mattress with the said boy on top of him. "Seems that you've exhausted the poor thing out."

"Wasn't my fault. He asked for it." Shikamaru sniggered as he brushed a finger over Naruto's cheek and watched the blond's hand came to wave it sleepily away.

"Hn." Leaning his head against the wall, Neji turned to look out of Shikamaru's cell and frowned as his eyes caught a green-haired and a blue-haired man shoot a strange glance their way before continuing on with their conversation.

"Wonder what they're talking about…"

Curious, Shikamaru stopped playing with Naruto's sleep and looked over at the opposite side of their cell. "Kisame and Zetsu?" shrugging uncaringly, he started messing with Naruto's already messy hair, smirking as the blond lightly moaned. "Probably has something to do with their hair color."

Neji huffed and looked over at the brunet, "You seem unusually cheerful this morning. Could it have something to do with your last night's loud activities?"

Smirking at the evenly smirking dark-haired, Shikamaru ran his fingers down Naruto's bare back and dipped them under his pants, "Maybe…AAH!" Suddenly he yelp as Naruto bit him harshly on his chest.

"Stop molestin' people while they're asleep, pervert!" _'Dam…what time is it?'_ Finally up, Naruto grumbled and tiredly set up on his knees. Rubbing his neck, he rolled it around and silently hissed as it cracked.

Neji and Shikamaru fidgeted a bit as they stared at the oblivious blond who probably had no idea what an arousing image he was creating; with the way he was sitting on Shikamaru's waist, and making all those provocative moans and arching movements…

Quickly breaking through his enchanted mind, Neji distracted it by staring at the blond's strange eight trigram vortex shaped tattoo around the navel;

While in the other universe: Shikamaru was seconds away from telling Neji to 'beat it', so he could proceed in really molesting the waking blond (forget his promises!)…, but unfortunately, Kiba, Lee and Suigetsu found the _perfect_ time to drop by and ruin it all. _'I'm gonna kill them!'_ groaning, Nara dropped an arm over his eyes and cursed his stupid gang for forcing him to imagine very unpleasant images instead of just letting his ego get the better of him and jump the poor blond.

"What is it?" asked Neji, noting their scornful looks, which quickly got Shikamaru's attention away from his fantasies.

"Kabuto's been released." said Suigetsu, and just then they heard a cheerful applauding coming below their storey, as some men shouted greetings to Kabuto of his return.

Jumping off his cellmate, Naruto came over the railing and looked down; indeed Kabuto was there with opened arms and huge-ass grin on his face. "But only two and a half weeks have passed. Why was he released so fast?" frowned the blond.

Coming to lean beside him, Suigetsu mumbled only one word to make things clear, "Orochimaru."

Everyone seemed to understand what was meant except for Naruto who only furrowed his brows deeper.

"Kabuto is Orochimaru's right-hand man, Naruto." explained Shikamaru, rising from the bed. "And, everyone knows what good records Orochimaru has scored with the warden. They have a rather friendly relationship going on in here, which comes close to over ten years. Therefore, we know there's no doubt that he had asked for Yakushi's amnesty personally; with Kabuto being his cellmate in more ways than one."

Naruto shuddered, putting Orochimaru and Sarutobi in one picture. _'That nice-looking old man is friends with the man who nearly raped me? This place is a mad-house.'_ "But isn't that like doing underhand dealings? Giving preferential treatment over other inmates?"

The others gave a slight laugh. "As if anyone would dare stand against them. Sarutobi trusts Orochimaru to keep his men in check. The snake's excuse was probably that Kabuto just slipped a bit. Though don't let Yakushi's amnesty get you down; even though he's gotten Kabuto out, that doesn't mean that Orochimaru's going to welcome him with opened arms. His punishments are harsher than those of Sarutobi's." sniggered Suigetsu.

"Are Orochimaru and Kabuto an item?" aloud wondered Naruto.

"You could say that I guess. But the main reason why Orochimaru still puts up with him is to save his reputation. It wouldn't be good for his men to dirty his records in the eyes of the warden."

"Heh. After he's done with him, I bet Kabuto's gonna score a black-eye." giving his train of thought, Kiba chucked.

Suigetsu joined in, "Oh yeah? I say he's going to score two black eyes, a split lip and a _hard_ limp…if ya know what I mean."

Naruto just started from on to the other, understanding very little.

"Don't mind them. They're idiots." simply said Shikamaru and dragged Naruto back in their cell, after making a quick glance downwards at the first storey cell in front of them, where Kabuto was still getting fussed over by his men.

…

09:46

Smirking as he approached his cheering gang, Orochimaru's eyes glinted as soon as they met with Kabuto's, who shrunk under his gaze immediately along with everyone else.

"Enjoying yourself, Kabuto?"

"L-lord Orochimaru… I- I…"

"Yes? Something you'd like to say to me?" smoothly asked the black-haired man as he predatorily circled around sweating Kabuto's form, checking if his appearance was the same as he remembered.

"N…ye-…" knowing to not stammer in front of his leader, Kabuto straightened his back, "Yes sir. I do."

"Really? I'm dying from curiosity." the yellow-eyed man tilted his head to the side as he stopped before his partner.

"It was a setup! I had absolutely _nothing_ to do with what happened." Kabuto was quick to shout out and defend his truth, "I was innocent!"

That was not what his leader wanted to hear first. Orochimaru's eyes darkened, "Is this all you care to say to me? Your cowardliness amuse me sometimes, Kabuto."

Kabuto opened his mouth to contradict, but Orochimaru was still speaking, "Not even as much as a _gratitude_ for getting you out of _that_ hole?"

Seeing menaces start to appear in their leader's eyes, the other inmates left quickly.

Kabuto's eyes agape, "N-n-no… I-I just! That is…, of course not. F-forgive me my Lord! I-I… I'm sorry," quickly spluttering out his forgotten 'thank you-s' and 'sorry-s', Kabuto failed to note that Orochimaru was too far gone for him to reach.

"You think a simple _sorry_ will fix everything now?" Kabuto was ready to wet his pants as Orochimaru grabbed his loosened hair and hissed in his face; his leader didn't care anymore how many times he'll shout out his pathetic apologies for he had already enraged him enough. "Have you any idea how much trouble you've caused me these past days, Kabuto? Because of your disgraceful little acts, Sarutobi nearly had my head."

"I…it-it wasn't my fault!" unable to settle his leader in any way, Kabuto thought he could at least make his leader believe that he was not guilty in the matter, and hope that'll settle things to his benefit. "Honest! I was framed!"

"Were you now? By whom?"

"Uzumaki! Nara's bitch!" getting bold in his confidence, Kabuto felt his blood boil at the mere mention of the brat, "That little runt! He'll pay for what he did! I promise you my Lord, when I get my hands on him, he won't-…"

Orochimaru's eyebrow shot up and he sniggered slightly, breaking Kabuto's hissy fuss. "That little boy? Honestly Kabuto. One would never guess you'd step this low as to frame a child."

Kabuto's eyes went wide as they snapped back at his leader, "B-but Lord Orochimaru…i-it's true! Naruto Uzumaki incriminated me! He-…"

"And _you_ simply let him get the best of you? I'm disappointed then Kabuto."

Kabuto became desperate, his leader was shutting him out, cutting off every one of his sentences, "But m-m-my Lord…"

Orochimaru's patience was lost. "Not another word!" he hissed, shutting Kabuto up completely. "Your incompetence disgraced the gang and my name enough, Kabuto. Don't you think it would finally be a good time to keep your trap shut?  
…After everything I've given you I never would have thought you'd go this far. For that I expect you to stand against your punishment."

Opening his mouth, all Kabuto managed to do was let out a small whimper as his leader pinned him with another glare.

"Did I not make myself clear, Yakushi? You'll open your mouth only then when I permit it. Defy my orders in front of me again and know what will happen. Understood?" with that said and a shaking nod received, Orochimaru walked pass the frozen Kabuto and inside their cell.

Disgraced and humiliated, Kabuto could only stare at the hard floor of the prison halls, hearing mockery snigger at him from every direction. _'No…. This can not happen…. Not to ME!'_ Hatred spread about fast as Kabuto's glassy eyes slowly rose up to stare vengefully at the upper cell parallel to his.

…

Leaning against the railings, Itachi watched as Kabuto glared up at Nara's cell before he flinched at Orochimaru's call and retreated to his cell.

"We should have a wager," standing beside him abruptly said a bulk man with bandanna covered black hair and bloodshed green eyes.

"On what?" amused, asked Itachi.

The man's smirk seemed to stretch far, as deep stitched scars, running straight from both corners of his mouth and all the way across his cheeks, made it turn into a long sneer. "How many bruises will Yakushi score."

"Hmph! Trying to get your greedy hands filled with green Benjamin's again?" making himself known, a slick silver-haired with mauve-colored eyes stepped between the two inmates and dropped his elbows over the railings. "I knew it was an obsession beyond limit, but you're a hopelessly insane fuck, Kakuzu. Robbing fifty-tree fucking banks wasn't enough for you?"

The stitched man glared at him, "Fifty-four!"

"Last one doesn't count. You failed and got fucked!"

"I still managed to rob it! So it counts."

"Tch! Fuck it doesn't!"

"Shut the hell up, Hidan, before I kill you!"

"Yeah-yeah, keep talking!"

Ignoring the bickering duo, Itachi sighed and decided to have a little walk, even more so when a shorthaired brown-head by the name of Tobi suddenly jumped out of nowhere and joined the bickering duo like a suicidal idiot he was.

"Shikamaru! Get your lazy ass up!" Taking notice of a familiar voice, Itachi slowed his steps little by little as he neared Nara's cell.

"Maa…give me a break, Naruto, I just lay down."

"I don't care! I need you to help me with this, come on!"

"Tch, fine already! Just give me fiv-…AHh!"

"Now, Nara!"

Shaking his head in slight amusement at the distinguished boy's loose tantrum, Itachi was about to pass their cell when suddenly the blond ran out and bumped right into him, actually knocking him off his feet and landing right on top of him.

Groaning in slight pain, Itachi hissed as his head hit the ground rather hard. _'Fuck, that stings!'_

"Whoa…sorry, ma-…eh?" quickly looking up at the person he was sitting on, Naruto's eyes widened as soon as he saw that it was Susanoo. "Ah…" _'Crap!'_

"You're so bustling, little fish." Rubbing his nape, Itachi cracked an eye open and looked at the gapping blond. "Not that I'm ungrateful for your obviously excited greeting, but would you mind being a bit more gentle next time…"

The blond finally snapped his mouth close and bared his teeth, "I'm not excitedly greeting you! Hell I didn't even want to see you today!"

"I'm quite _sure_ you didn't," sardonically remarked Itachi and smirked as the blond's face turned red with anger.

"Why yo-…" Not giving Naruto time to finish, Itachi quickly grabbed the blond's waist and rolled them over, pinning him down himself. Naruto's eyes flew open as Itachi smirked down on him and leant over to whisper across his lips. "Your time is slowly running out, little fish. Have you come even remotely close to a conclusion of my intentions?"

Naruto hissed at him, "I told you before… I own you nothing."

"Is that so…" Itachi's mouth stretched into a small grin before he suddenly rose up and grabbed Naruto's hand, pulling him up as well just as Shikamaru walked out of the cell.

"Susanoo," said Shikamaru.

"Nara," acknowledged Itachi.

Exchanging small greetings, Itachi and Shikamaru's eyes seemed to lessen their spark as they suddenly darkened and both began glaring at each other.

"Are there going to be problems here?" Naruto's head snapped to Itachi's direction to see Asuma standing behind him and pinning them with his own glare, sensing fight coming up.

"No," still glaring at each other, Itachi and Shikamaru said in union before Itachi pocketed his hands and continued on his way with one more glance towards Naruto which clearly said that he's still waiting.

…

15:15

Entering, or better yet limping, into one of his men's cells, Kabuto licked his bruised red lips and stopped behind a shaving grey-haired inmate.

"Did you get it?" Kabuto asked with a cracked voice, glancing towards the entrance now and then.

A pale man with green-colored lips and narrow eyes placed the shaver by the sink and whipped his chin clean with a towel. Reaching then carefully below the same sink, he tore off a small piece of duck-tape and pulled out a jagged knife.

Kabuto's eyes glinted as he examined the nice form of the metallic structure. The knife wasn't ordinary, it had razor-sharp notches that could tear out the victim's guts and pull out every single organ it brushed; a killer instrument.

The goon turned around and handed the knife to Kabuto who marveled its structure while the other examined his looks.

Orochimaru had cut him some slack; Kabuto didn't even look half as beaten up as everyone guessed he'd be; however those who knew Orochimaru knew well that he was far from finished with him, for night has yet to come, which is when he enjoyed torturing his prey the very best for everyone to hear.

Placing the knife carefully inside the bible he brought along, Kabuto turned his safe eye towards his companion and said, "I expect you to be there as well. 7pm, sharp."

The goon nodded, already knowing the destined place and plan his superior was talking about.

With information declared, Kabuto exited the cell and entered the halls.

…

15:16

Shikamaru stared at Naruto strangely, "You want me to get a what now?"

"You heard me," hissed Naruto, walking beside Nara to clean out their food trays.

"Perhaps I overheard that. Why on earth would you need an eggbeater?"

"Well I can't get a fucking drill inside the cell, so eggbeater is the next best thing when taking down the wall."

'_How on earth can an eggbeater rival a drill!'_ rubbing his temples, Shikamaru groaned, "You know what, I don't wanna know anymore."

"I'm not expecting you to… Anyways, will you be able to get it?"

"Aa, Choji should be of a great help."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "Are you going to tell him what it's for?"

"What do you take me for, Naruto?" smirked Nara.

'_Sometimes I wonder.'_ Naruto still stared at him from the corner of his eyes. "What of your friends?"

"What about them?" Exiting the dining hall and into the yard, both headed to more secluded places and away from other inmates.

"Have you mentioned anything to them about the escape?"

Stopping by the prison's corner, Shikamaru turned to Naruto with a serious look. "Why a sudden interrogation? You never seemed bothered to bring it up all those days before. Why now?"

Naruto's brows furrowed, "All the other days didn't seem too important."

"And now it is?" crossing his arms, Shikamaru leant against the building. "Could it have something to do with that one visit you had a few days back?"

Recalling the time he was talking with his brother about Shikamaru's part in the escape, Naruto wondered how could Shikamaru read him so openly without him giving anything away.

Shrugging, Shikamaru said, "You've been acting rather strange at that time, which seemed completely out of place. What was up with that?"

"I need to be sure of some things."

"What kind of things?"

"If you're trusty enough to spare your life."

Shikamaru's eyes lightly widened before narrowing in suspicion. "You already spread word about me outdoors?" The blond's expression didn't change, making Shikamaru guess that he was close to his guess. "So should I consider myself a target now?"

'_Crafty bastard.'_ Naruto's lips twitched upwards, "That doesn't matter now. What matters is. Can I really trust you enough, Nara?" _'Can I trust you enough to call off your assassination?'_

Shikamaru's eyes lidded halfway and he paused before speaking again, "Thief's can't be trusted, Naruto. Their words are never close to their true intentions. Do _you_ think you can trust a thief?"

The blond's expression softened some and he whispered out, "…I think I already do."

Staring at the blond, a small smile slowly stretched over Nara's features. "I'm selfish. Despite being the leader, friend and protector of my group, I keep everything to myself. I hadn't told anyone about the escape."

Naruto arched a brow, "Not even Neji?"

"Not even Suigetsu."

Both sniggered at each other's choice of person.

Opening his eyes, Naruto looked at Shikamaru with a sly smirk, "I guess we're both selfish bastards then, huh?"

"I don't think I would mind that being that way."

Even thought on the outside everything appeared nice and friendly, on the inside they hid something dark and fiendish.

Naruto's lips lightly twitched, watching sharply as Nara chuckled. _'I know you told everything to your little girlfriend, Nara.'_

Lidding his eyes open, Shikamaru looked into Uzumaki's diffident blues. _'I'm a thief, Naruto. I already told you: I can't be trusted.'_

…

18:59

Watching Shikamaru enter the backdoors leading an entry into the kitchen, Naruto pocketed his hands and exited the dining hall for some fresh air.

Glancing around in caution, Naruto suddenly felt an uneasy shiver run down his spine as some of the inmates passed him and spread about the courtyard leaving him with odd backward glances.  
One of the inmates with green-lips caught his attention particularly. As he brushed pass him, he stretched his neck to the side and mockingly sang out,

"_Bye-bye, fish._"

Naruto's eyes widened, but before his body could react, he felt a sudden cloth get stuffed and tied around his mouth and his hands quickly grabbed by two bulk men.  
Struggling and trashing, Naruto could hear his heart contract in frantic beats as the thugs quickly dragged him into some kind of a shed constructed just beside the far corner of the dining's sector.

The green-lipped man quickly looked around the yard for any suspicion before walking towards the shed to keep a lookout from anyone entering.

The two bulky men struggle with Naruto's jerks until they managed to get him inside the shed and slam him atop of a dusty table filled with rusty broken nails and papers.

Naruto bit his teeth into the cloth as some of the nails sank deeply into his back, the process gave the thugs a chance to spread his hands and pin them on either side of the table.

"My…what an alluring image you make, Uzumaki. Being all helpless and spread open like that."

Naruto's eyes snapped towards the dark shed's corner, which soon revealed a well known character in his book, Kabuto Yakushi.

The sickly smirking man gracefully glided out of the shadows and stepped before the table's end, smirking only wider as Naruto began trashing again.

"A rather stubborn fellow, ne?" exchanging chuckles with his men, Kabuto rounded the table and stepped before Naruto's head, facing him downwards. "You're quite cunning for someone this young. I'll give you that. However…"

Grabbing the glaring blond's hair, Kabuto snapped his teeth as he pulled on them, making Naruto stretching his neck and clench his eyes tight. "You've made one too many mistakes for me to exchange pleasantries with you now. Your first mistake: was for defying _me_!" Slamming Naruto's head back onto the table, Kabuto looked at his two thugs holding Naruto down and nodded towards the wall.

The goons pulled the blond from the table and slammed him against the wall.

Naruto groaned as his head knocked against the hard wood and his mind drop in a daze.

"Second was for the setup!" Approaching the hazy boy, Kabuto reached for the sharp blade hidden behind his pants waistline, but his head suddenly reared back as Naruto abruptly pushed up and slammed a foot against his nose. "AAH! Mother-fucker! You Bitch!"

While Kabuto tended to his broken nose, Naruto gasped as one of the thugs suddenly kicked him hard into his abdomen and the other punched his cheek, making him drop to the floor.

Grabbing the boy's arms, the two prisoners quickly flipped him over and held him down. Kicking his legs, Naruto screamed through the cloth until he felt Kabuto sit on his knees, preventing movements on his feet, while the goons held his hands.

Hissing curses and promises to 'kill', Naruto suddenly stilled altogether as Kabuto pulled something shiny from his back. His pupils shortened as soon as they saw the displayed weapon in smirking silver-hair's fingers.

"Yes, Uzumaki…" finally receiving the long since awaited fright from the boy, Kabuto grinned in deep delight, "That's right. You understand the situation a little bit more now, don't you?"

Naruto's eyes followed the knife's every single movement, watching Kabuto tease him with it while all the way sparkle in his predominance throughout the given situation.

"You look so pretty when you're scared." Pressing the knife under the blond's left eye, Kabuto bathed in boy's every little reaction, be it the way his sweat rolled down his temples or the way his eyes shortened. "What would you say if I make another line on your soft little flesh right here, would you like that? No?" running the blade pass Naruto's whiskers, Kabuto brought it down his neck, smirking as Naruto stopped breathing altogether.

"Or perhaps I should just leave a scar in a bit more _different_ way?" Hooking the knife's notch over Naruto's white t-shirt's collar, Kabuto suddenly brought it all the way to the base, tearing the shirt in half with easy slice.

The goons snickered as Naruto's stomach abruptly contracted and his head reared back when the blade caught his skin, making a red cut from his chest down to his stomach.

"Aww…did I scar my little goldfish?" cupping Naruto's cheek, Kabuto glared as the blond quickly jerked it away from his touch. "Look at me when I'm talking, Uzumaki!" gripping Naruto's cheeks, Kabuto turned his face back, giving him a clear view of his own beaten face.

"I'll make you pay for what you did to me! For every…single…bruise…I…got…"

Sitting then up, Kabuto grabbed Naruto's pants waist-line and brought the knife down to tear them apart.

Naruto's teary eyes snapped back wide and he started panicking.

"Hold him still!" growled Kabuto as the boy began flinging frantically.

Barging into the shed, the green-lipped man abruptly yelled out, "Boss! The guards are coming!"

Naruto never thought he'd be so happy to hear such words.

"Fuck!" cursing, Kabuto quickly got off of Naruto and ordered the other to stall them while he went to seal the doors close.

Seeing the man exited the shed, Naruto felt relief perish into pale dust as the two remaining thugs pulled him up and presented him to approaching Kabuto. "You could consider yourself lucky, Uzumaki…" smirking, Kabuto fingered the knife in his right hand while he brought his other one up and almost tenderly ran it through Naruto's locks before gripping them tight. "…That is…" leaning then close, he pressed his cheek next to Naruto's and whispered out, "…be this situation with anyone other than myself."

Naruto's breath suddenly jerked and his body froze… Nor sound, nor shout was there to be heard…

Taking a step back, Kabuto smirked, enjoying the way those wide blue depths slowly turned away from his grey eyes to gaze downwards.

Dark red floods of blood poured pass the black ink of his tattoo as they glided lower down the blade and onto the edges of his torn shirt and pants, spreading the color wider and wider as it oozed from the flesh.

"Sayonara…Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto didn't know when the goons released him…, he didn't know how he sank within his knees…, he didn't hear when the backdoors were secretly opened…, he didn't see how Kabuto smirked at him before he ran out…and he didn't see when the officers burst into the shed…

All he saw and heard was dim…

… … …

_

* * *

_

_A/N_

_Thank ya so much:_ Felnore, chibinaru-sama, Naruto00, Savagehunger47, narubby23, Ashei, KitsuneDango, Stoic-Genius, dashllee, kittensbutterfly, ichigofan01, saya420 & Tachi Kagahara! =))

_Replies:  
_Naruto00 – umm…I can't promise a lot;)) 'cause I'm trying to keep Naruto & Shikamaru's relationship more between friends than lovers. Sorry:)

Savagehunger47 – perhaps he will;))

dashllee – Itachi'll come around;)) & no, Sasuke & Itachi are not related.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 8**_

* * *

19:19

Sighing, Shikamaru exited the kitchen through the backdoor with an eggbeater hidden behind his shirt and looked around the empty hall, searching for his blond cellmate. _'Tch… Where'd he go to?'_ walking out, he frowned in confusion as Naruto was nowhere to be found.

Having checked his cell, the gang and showers, Shikamaru stepped back into the yard with a pressuring feeling in his gut.

Hearing laughter coming from his right, Shikamaru scowled as he headed towards the Susanoo and his group.

Feeling someone approaching, Itachi opened his eyes and rose from the benches just as Nara came before him.

"Where is he?" silently hissed Shikamaru, glaring fearlessly at the black _raven_.

Itachi's eyebrow shot up, "Excuse me?"

"You know whom I'm talking about Susanoo. Tell me what did you do to him?"

Itachi's eyes darkened and narrowed. Slowly he descended down the benches and came to stand in height with Nara, "If you do not explain what possessed you to assail me all of a sudden, we're going to have great problems, Nara."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed this time in confusion; by Itachi's reaction he could quickly tell that he had no idea of Naruto's sudden disappearance either. _'Not him then. So then who-…?'_ Shikamaru's eyes slightly agape, "Kabuto."

Frowning at Nara's abrupt out-whispered word, Itachi was about to ask further what has gotten into him when suddenly there was a shout from one of the officers and all heads snapped towards the shed.

"Get the medic! Now!"

…

19:49

Entering the shed, Hatake quickly walked pass the other officers and kneeled before the bleeding boy on the ground. "He's lost lots of blood; we need to get him to the hospital immediately."

"Send the chopper here!" barked Izumo to the other officers as he dropped beside Kakashi.

Staring at the blooded end of the knife sticking out of the boy's stomach (luckily the boy didn't fall on his stomach but on his back), Izumo made a grab for it. "We should take it out," he said but got stopped by Hatake.

"Don't. It'll forward his bleeding. Besides, we don't know the shape of this thing. By taking it out we risk to do more damage than needed."

"Chopper's on its way." entering back inside the shed, Kotetsu yelled out just as Asuma, Sakura and Hinata rushed in with stretchers.

Quickly looking over the status and Naruto's pulse, Sakura stood up. "We'll need to get him out. Put him on the stretchers. Gently!"

Bending on either side of the blond, the officers picked Naruto up and placed him on the gurney.

While Hinata pressed a towel around Naruto's wound to help stem the flow of blood, a medical helicopter roared over the secluded place of the prison yard and gently set down.

Inmates surrounded the courtyard as they stared at the chopper; only four of all prisoners really understood what it was there for.

"He's not gonna make it," smirked Kabuto while his goons chuckled, watching as officers and two doctors exited the shed with their left burden on the gurney.

Spotting blond hair and unmistakable whiskers, many of the inmates showed expressions between bewildered startle, confusion, indifference or horror. Some of which, were the looks of pure shock, which mainly revealed in the eyes of Susanoo, Nara and his gang.

'_Naruto…'_

…

Six days after the incident…

09:06

_A great disadvantage to those considered on the run and in hiding, is that the info' sometimes comes fairly slow and at a time too late…_

Barging into the hospital, a bronze-skinned man (clothed in dark pants, black cloak and brown glasses with a hat) rushed through the halls. Passing the information center, he ignored the receptionist's shouts for him to not enter or whatever… as he headed straight ahead to the room guarded by two cops. It didn't take a genius to guess that's where the resident inmate Naruto Uzumaki was placed.

Noting the ruckus that noisy woman by the reception desk was making, one of the officers gripped the handle of a gun, strapped by his hip, and expanded a hand, halting the suspicious man from going any further.

Frowning, the man pulled his shades off and gripped the side of his black coat, pulling it to the side to show them the badge of a CIA.

"Agent Wharton Dean. Let me pass. I'm here to question the convict Uzumaki Naruto."

The two guards exchanged looks, before the one closer to the doors nodded and let the man pass in.

Entering the hospital room, the man narrowed his green eyes as he spotted a few more officers situated inside. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at the two men he had already introduced himself to and gave a silent request, which they seemed to understand as they ordered their companions to leave room.

As the doors were shut quietly behind them, the man pulled off his cloak and walked deeper into the blind covered room. Grabbing a chair from the side and situating it beside the bed, he dropped his black cloth over its back and set.

"You have many questions to answer me, Mr. Namikaze."

Lidding his eyes open, Naruto turned his head tiredly to the side and blinked his eyes to adjust to the light. A confusing frown merged his face as soon as his eyes focused on his intruding guest. "Who are you?"

The man's lips slightly twitched upwards, "My name's Wharton Dean. And I'm your long lost lover."

Naruto suddenly burst laughing but quickly regretted it and hissed as his bandaged stomach contracted in pain.

"Easy now my love. Otherwise you'll get yourself killed without satisfying me first." the man by the name Wharton chuckled.

Naruto slapped him on his knee, that being as far as he could reach with the system still connected to his arms and chest. "Only you could think of such a perverse disguise."

The man chuckled and took off his hat, revealing spiked shoulder-long red hair. "Actually I'm not playing your perverted boyfriend. I'm an agent of CIA."

"Ooh…" opening his mouth in mocking amazement, Naruto leant against the bedstead, with a little help from his now revealed brother Kyuubi. "You came here to interrogate me?"

Frowning, Kyuubi propped his elbows on his knees. "Yes and no. More importantly, how are you feeling?"

"Not bad…, for a close death call," chuckling at his own joke, Naruto coughed when Kyuubi didn't even crack a smile over his makeup covered cheeks.

"You dropped your guard."

"I know…"

"And you nearly died!"

"I know…"

"Damn it Naruto! At least try to act like it bothers you!" suddenly barked out Kyuubi. "It's a miracle that you pulled through that surgery with such a serious wound. Why can't you understand tha-…"

"I know you're not blaming yourself for that what happened, right?" arching an amused brow at him, Naruto smiled as Kyuubi bit onto his tongue and lowered his eyes. "Kyuubi. Stop blaming yourself for my mistakes. I chose to be in this place instead of you because I didn't want to see you become an emotionless shell again."

"And you think it's ok for me to see how you suffer through my screw-up's?"

"Some–some. We're both stubborn, and we know that we wouldn't forgive ourselves if anything were to happen to one another. Where we in reverse roles, don't you think I'd be exactly the same with you lying here instead of me and me sitting there instead of you?"

Kyuubi couldn't disagree with that, however… "…" _'I still fear for him.'_

Knowing what his twin was thinking, Naruto grasped his arm, "Don't worry. Who says that I can't handle this little problem by myself? I am a Namikaze after all. I know what I'm doing. Trust me on this."

Curling up a small smile, Kyuubi sighed and decided to have faith in his brother.

Dropping his concern, he soon broke their comforting silence by saying, "I paid your little friend a visit."

Naruto blinked at him. _'What friend?'_

"After finding out of your condition, I went to meet this Nara guy."

"Ah, you've been here before?" wondered Naruto, noting that he woke up only yesterday.

"Aa… It was on the third day when I found out of what happened. You were still unconscious when I came here the first time."

Nodding, Naruto turned his eyes away from Kyuubi's fake lens eyes and played with his fingers. "So…what do you think of him?" he asked, wanting to know Kyuubi's opinion on his cellmate.

Kyuubi's eyes turned back to indifference as they stared at his younger twin.

…

_Three days after the incident…_

_11:25_

_Stepping into the meeting room, Shikamaru looked towards his guest and blinked in startle, 'N-Naruto?' but then on a closer look he could tell that his visitor was not his cellmate he was thinking off. '…iie. That's not him.'_

_The young-man before him possessed the same whisker-like marks that Naruto did, however his hair and eyes stood at the opposite._

_He seemed like a man who had overgrown his age. His eyes were cold and purple, and hair was spiked blood-red. His features held no emotion and his gaze gave Shikamaru the feeling of a piercing blade._

_Taking a careful seat on the opposite side he asked, "Who are you?"_

"_Is it hard to guess?"_

"_Judging by the similarities…I guess it's not. You're Naruto's brother, am I right?"_

_Receiving no answer save the cold stare, Shikamaru leant into his seat. 'What a pain. I barely even know this guy, plus having no idea what he wants, but I can already feel him restraining himself from killing me. Asking him how he knows me will probably be useless; besides I have a pretty good guess that he's the one who Naruto spread the word of my existence to. Which reminds me…' "How's Naruto? Is he alright?"_

"_He's holding fine." 'However, he is yet to regain consciousness.' the last words Kyuubi kept within himself._

'_That's good,' sighing his concerns away, Shikamaru's expression turned serious as he regarded his unexpected visitor. "It's no use assuming that you'd come here just to meet me as a person. Is there something you want to know?"_

"_Tell me: who was it?" straight forward, Kyuubi asked._

_Shikamaru quickly understood what he meant, 'Who was the one to injure Naruto. So that's what he wants…' "If you're wondering about Naruto's assailant, I can't give you a correct answer. There are many people to consider, and the assault has not even been prov-…" spotting a threatening glimmer shine from the red-head's eyes, Shikamaru decided to go towards the end, "My suspicions stay on only one person."_

"_Name." Kyuubi cared little of the other's talk, he hated long conversations, especially with those he didn't know. Right now, all he wanted to know was the name of the person who hurt his little brother, suspicious or not suspicious – he'll kill them all if that's what it takes._

'_This guy sure is direct. He doesn't hide his hatred towards the others; he simply slams it into the face and lets you remember it. One wrong move and I can imagine my head rolling.' Guessing it'd turn bad if he lingered any longer than he had already, Shikamaru answer simply, "Kabuto Yakushi."_

_Without another word, Kyuubi rose from his seat and headed straight for the exit. But before he left, he heard Shikamaru whisper a question. "May I ask something?"_

_Seeing the red-head stop with his back to him, Shikamaru glanced around the room to see the officers busy talking amongst themselves before asking, "Are you the one assigned as my assassin?"_

_Shikamaru felt a tremor run down his back as Kyuubi glanced at him barely pass his shoulder with a cold glare. Before long, the red-head turned and left, without giving an answer._

_Sighing, Shikamaru rubbed his eyes, "What a troublesome guy."_

…

Recalling the time he met with Nara, Kyuubi didn't answer Naruto's question as he simply asked one of his own, "You like him don't you?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the blunt statement but quickly settled down.

Kyuubi nodded, understanding everything through his reaction.

"He's an…interesting person. I feel it'd be a shame to lose such a sharp mind as his."

"Just the mind? Or is there another reason for it?"

Smiling at Kyuubi's knowing question, Naruto sniggered and rubbed his nape, "I'm soft, what ya gonna do?"

Chuckling at his brother's strange antics, Kyuubi shook his head. "Only you can befriend another prisoner, Naruto. Though _how _it's a mystery to me."

Glad to get some emotion from his brother every now and then, Naruto laughed himself.

"So anyways…why did you go to see my cellmate in the first place?"

"To find out the name of your assailant…. Kabuto Yakushi, is it right?"

Naruto's eyes clouded with anger at the mere mention of the name, unknowing confirming Kyuubi's question if that guy really was his true attacker. "So Nara already found out, huh?"

"Not really. He guessed."

Naruto arched a brow at Kyuubi's indifferent tone. "And you simply went with that? What if Kabuto wasn't the one who attacked me, leaving you to kill an innocent being? Which reminds me, what did you do with him?"

Kyuubi smirked, "But he was. And as for what I did to him, …I did nothing." _'…yet.'_

Naruto blinked and blinked, "What was that?" _'Could it be that he actually turned down a free opportunity to kill someone?'_

Kyuubi chuckled, "There was no need," Looking then at his twin with a sly expression, which had a slight tick of annoyance in it, Kyuubi said, "…not anymore at least."

Naruto's brows furrowed.

"Your cellmate…and a guy named Susanoo have proved themselves to be quite useful in the matter."

"Huh?"

…

First day after the incident…

08:41

Stretching his sore muscles out, Kabuto rose from his bed with a pleasing groan. _'Lord Orochimaru has been rather silent and calm last night. He didn't even lay a finger on me. Perhaps he's giving me mercy?'_ Stepping before the sink, he carefully washed his still hurting face and smirked, "Yeah…Today is going to be a good day."

"Indeed…"

Startled, Kabuto quickly turned around to meet Kisame and Suigetsu standing in his opened cell doors.

"But to whom this day will be pleasing in the end I wonder…" Kisame and Suigetsu shared a grin as they stepped inside the cell.

To Kabuto it was all strange and confusing, not to mention terribly fishy, _'Since when did one of Nara's men and Susanoo's goons share something similar? Last time I checked they stood against each other like two packs of dogs and cats.'_ "Wh-…wha-…what's going on?"

"Why so troubled, Yakushi?" taunted Suigetsu while Kisame sniggered.

"Seems that he can't comprehend the picture we're making. But does it really matter what he thinks now?"

"No." smirking, Suigetsu suddenly pulled out a sock filled with batteries from his pocket and whipped Kabuto's head with them.

Not expecting the sudden attack, Kabuto let out a pained scream and dropped to the ground, feeling his vision glaze over before he passed out.

Bending down, Kisame and Suigetsu each hooked an arm under Kabuto's elbows and dragged him out of his cell.

…

Feeling his world finally settle down, Kabuto blinked his eyes open and looked up to see his leader's feet crossed by the ankles as he himself leant against the doors leading outside the vacant kitchen annex, which he guessed was where he was.

"…M-my…L-Lord…" trying to stand up, Kabuto blinked and looked down to see what prevented him from doing so. He was tied by ripped sheets by his ankles and wrists. "Wh-what's going on? Where did Kisame and Suigetsu go?"

Cracking his eyes open, Orochimaru looked towards the man with a glare. "That doesn't matter where they are. What matters is where you're going to be with your current predicament."

Kabuto frowned, "I…don't understand what you mean."

"Some interesting information has come to my ears. And be it foreseeable or not, it involves you."

"Whatever they told you, it's not true! I did nothing."

Orochimaru arched a brow, to which Kabuto shook his head and fidgeted with his tied hands, "I swear I didn't. …Please, please…untie me."

Smirking, Orochimaru came over and kneeled before Kabuto, gripping his chin. "Sorry Kabuto. …But not this time."

Kabuto's eyes widened and he stared at his leader as if he'd lost his mind. "Wh-what? Why…O-Orochimaru…Why? I didn't do anything!"

"You're lying to me, Kabuto."

"NO! No-o… I'm not… They're the ones lying! All they say is not true! I didn't do anything to that Uzumaki brat!"

Orochimaru's eyebrow shot up and Kabuto quickly shut his mouth up, realizing his mistake.

"Hm… That's interesting. I haven't mentioned any Uzumaki brat yet."

"No, I didn't mean-…"

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed and he stood up. "What a disappointment you turned out to be."

Kabuto gapped as his leader turned him his back.

"He's all yours." said Orochimaru before he walked out of the room.

Yakushi's eyes widened and his head snapped to the side, where movements caught his attention and he stared with sweat pouring from him as Nara and Susanoo stepped out for the first time.

"…no…NO! Orochimaru! Please, don't go! Don't leave me with them!" hope was crushed as the doors clicked close after his leader with a lock.

Last shout sounded from Kabuto's lungs before he was grabbed by his throat and slammed harshly against the wall.

…

Sixth date after the incident… Back in the hospital…

Naruto continued blinking, sorting out what he just heard his brother retell through his sources. "Shikamaru and Itachi killed Kabuto?"

Kyuubi chuckled, "Not precisely. But they were very close."

At one point Naruto was amazed, _'Kyuubi rarely praised people'_, but at the other he was worried. "Were they caught? Are they ok?" Naruto felt the sudden need to know that both – Itachi and Shikamaru – were ok; with the trouble they went through for him, if it was true, he thought he should at least care to give concern.

"Why? Worried?" mocked the red-head.

Flinching, Naruto blushed and crossed his arms while murmuring, "Nhom…'m not."

"_Sure_, ok…whatever you say."

"Kyuubi!"

"Shh…not so loud. And rest at ease, last time I checked your friends seemed fine and well."

"'Hmph!'"

Coming to sit by the edge of Naruto's bed, Kyuubi suddenly pulled him into a tight hug. "But more than anything, I'm so glad you're ok."

Sighing, Naruto leant onto his brother despite his stinging wound. "And I'm happy you're here."

Staying in the embrace for some time, Naruto suddenly felt hands tighten their hold on him and he frowned in worry. "Is there something else you want to tell me, Kyuubi?"

"Father found out about your arrest."

"What?" gripping the red-head's shoulders, Naruto pushed him to see if he wasn't bluffing.

"That's not all. He also knows of your assault. And he's very furious."

"Tch, dam it! How did he find out? I thought I told the others to hide all information concerning me away from him."

Kyuubi's lips curled in amusement, "They did…, but then, whenever were we able to hide anything from him in the first place?"

"You got a point there." sighing, Naruto messed up his hair. "But still…we can't allow him to enter this country. It's dangerous. He's a wanted man here. He'll be discovered immediately. And I don't want him to get caught because of our carelessness."

"Don't worry. I'll figure something out. I already booked a flight to New Zealand." glancing at his watch, Kyuubi noted with a sweat-drop, "Which is taking off in two hours. Crap!"

"Eh? …I thought he was in Italy."

"Iie… that was last month." standing up, Kyuubi pulled his hair up and covered them under his hat.

"Hm…"

"When are they planning to have your discharge?"

"In two days. It'll be Wednesday I guess."

"Aa…" putting on his cloak, Kyuubi bent down and kissed Naruto's forehead. "Get well and be more careful from now on; prison is not a place where you can relax or relay on someone else. I'll see you again as soon as I arrive."

Nodding, Naruto smiled as Kyuubi winked at him and pulled on his glasses before exiting the hospital room.

_'Be safe.'_

… … …

_

* * *

_

_A/N_

_Thanx to them reviewers:_ Tuuna, Felnore, Savagehunger47, HarryPotterObsessed44, Tachi Kagahara, ReaperLuci, dragonzice, saya420, sousie, seto'swifey, ichigofan01, brokenfromthepast, narubby23 & itachisgurl93! XDD


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 9**_

* * *

12:01

Putting on the neatly folded pants placed beside his bed, Naruto hissed as he had to stretch his back and grabbed a shirt, carefully putting it on to not misplace the bandages.

He reached to take his necklace, but frowned and cursed as he remembered that it wasn't with him. During the first date since his awakening it was the first thing he reached to touch, only to groan as he discovered that it was gone yet again. His thoughts momentarily went to Kabuto from that point, _'He must've taken it.'_

"You are so hasty you little fool!"

Naruto flinched at the sudden cold voice barging into his room accompanied by a loud slam of the doors. Snapping his attention towards the entrance, Naruto stretched out a twitching grin, "Hey, Sasuke. …Well I guess I'll be lying if I say it's so nice to see you!"

Sasuke ignored his cheery sarcasm full greetings as he marched forward. "Instead of thinking of a way to buy yourself some time why don't you start thinking of a good reason why I _shouldn't_ smack you in the face right now?"

"Now hold on! You'll be abusing an invalid that way, Sasuke!" diving after a pillow that could block Sasuke's intentional or unintentional punch, Naruto cursed as his sharp movements disturbed his stitched wound and he dropped to the ground.

"Careful!" grabbing the blond before he met the floor, Sasuke sighed and lowered him to sit on the bed, "Geez… How the hell do you always manage to bring more damage to yourself than anyone else is a wonder."

Chuckling, Naruto rubbed his neck, "Yeah well…you know me."

"Unfortunately," not paying mind to Naruto's pout, Sasuke suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace.

Naruto blinked at first before he smiled and accepted his friend's silent show of concern. "Teme… you're so sweet sometimes, I think I might actually eat you."

"Shut up!" snapped Sasuke albeit his hands only tightened around the sniggering blond.

"How were you allowed in here anyways?"

"As your lawyer, how else?"

"My lawyer? But I already had a tria-…"

"Not for the murder. But for the assault." cutting him off, Sasuke stood up. "I'm here to ask you whether you agree to testify against your assailant – Kabuto Yakushi?"

"You know?" Naruto frowned, wondering how Sasuke knew it was Kabuto who attacked him.

"Hn. Everyone knows. Your brother told me."

"Tch."

"So what's it gonna be? Are you going to bring a charge against him?"

Smiling slyly, Naruto looked at his friend with a hidden ambition which made Sasuke frown, even more so when Naruto said 'No'.

"No?"

"Making him sit in an asylum or get a seemingly suited punishment from the officials shall be too easy. I want to do it myself."

Sasuke arched a brow. "You have something in mind?"

"Aa… However, I'm not going to act straight forward. I'll give him time, make him settle before the strike. Besides, he has to heal from his current injuries (as do I); and as far as I heard, yet to wake up."

The black-haired was confused, _'Did Kyuubi had a little _talk_ with Kabuto already?'_, though before he could ask what he meant by 'injuries' an officer entered the room with a pointed look.

"Guess it's my call." standing up, Naruto bit his lip and encircled his hand around his hurting stomach, thanking his friend for helping him up.

"They're checking you out already?"

"Yeah. Said that I'm to be transferred back in Konoha Prison and placed in the care of their doctors, now that I'm awake and got a few days of rest at least."

Sasuke glared, hating to see Naruto in pain and hating the officials for not permitting him stay in the hospital long enough to heal completely; but he was a supposedly murderer after all who did not deserve luxury.

…

13:39

Fingering the sparkling necklace between his fingers, Itachi sighed in thought, _'How do you always manage to end up within my grasp?'_ This time however instead of finding it somewhere lying around, he managed to find it in Kabuto's possession; after which discovery he proceeded to beat him into oblivion and going as far as stab Kabuto's eye out.

His fist suddenly clenched and he hid the gem under his fingers just as Nara came and leant his back against the railings next to Susanoo.

"He's going to want it back." nonchalantly said Shikamaru, for once not feeling the usual irritation he had once talking with Itachi.

On Itachi's part it was the same…even though from a reluctant perspective. One should have a lot of nerves to come and talk to him, Nara included; but after their little 'get-together' on Kabuto, something within the two leaders changed. It was too strained and soon to be called friendship… rather it was more of a companionship, yet even that was regarded cold in mind.

Curling his lips slightly, Itachi crossed his arms. "Then he'll just have to come and get it."

Shikamaru's brows furrowed, "Why are you so interested in Naruto?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

The slacker's lips twitched into a small smirk, of course, Susanoo had no idea of his and Naruto's little play, none did; yet now that he thought of it, it might actually be amusing to pick on the raven's feathers if that's to be the case. "He's different." Shikamaru shrugged, …saying it like as if he had many others to compare Naruto to.

Itachi frowned and arched a brow at that, to which Shikamaru simply shook his head.

"I suggest you to drop your hopes." glaring the other in the eye, Shikamaru warned, "I won't let you get him. He's mine."

Itachi's eyes matched Nara's perfectly, if not maybe even more threateningly. "You think you can hold him _prison_ from me?"

"Nothing is impossible, Susanoo."

"Indeed…nothing."

…

14:00

Stepping out of the heavy van, Naruto listened to the metallic jingle of his cuffs as he was escorted out and towards Konoha Prison's second sector – the infirmary.

Glancing to the side, he could see other inmates leaving the yard behind the fence. Water grey eyes suddenly turned to his direction and he smirked as the well remembered green-lipped man stopped walking and just stared at him as if he was a ghost.

The moment was short-lived, as the doors to the infirmary opened and he was led in.

…

14:05

Racing through the other prisoners and into the mess-hall, Sakon ignored the startle of his two gang members as he quickly jumped into his seat in front of them.

"What's with you?" frowned Kidoumaru, a muscular dark-skinned man with black eyes and black hair tied tight into a high tail.

"The _brat_ survived." hissed the green-lipped inmate, glancing disturbingly from side to side.

The other seemed to get the meaning behind the 'brat' as Kidoumaru's spoon slipped from his fingers.

"What! How the Hell?"

"The fuck should I know! I just saw him leave the van and get lead into the sickbay."

"Hmph. I don't see what the big deal is?" munching on his food the second bulk inmate with punk short orange hair shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "Let's just go and finish him off then! Like if that can be so hard to do…"

Smacking him on the head, Sakon snapped, "Are you sick in the head? Does the fact that he is now in the infirmary under the constant watch of those bastard cops ring a bell! Besides that, who knows what he's told them already! That night he'd seen us all and I have no doubt remembers how we all looked like. He can easily tell on us at any minute." _'The brat's fucking smirk only proves the point that he hasn't done it yet… just to provoke us.'_ mentally growled Sakon, remembering the look Uzumaki gave him as he met him at eye-contact. "If that fucking brat opens his mouth, we're done for."

"Shit!" finally getting the point, Jiroubou slammed his big fist against the table, clattering the plates and cups.

"'Shit' is right. What the Hell are we going to do?" looking to the side, to see if anyone had their eyes on them, wondered Kidoumaru.

"Maybe we should tell Kabuto…" scratching his head Jiroubou blinked as the other two glared at him.

"Can't dumbass. He's in asylum, remember? Besides, what would he do out-cold? He's no help at all anymore."

Agreeing with the other, Sakon ran a hand through his hair as he then thought. "Perhaps we should talk to Orochimaru…"

Kidoumaru and Jiroubou exchanging unnerving looks, before staring at their partner in crime long and hard. "Do you even hear what you're saying yourself?"

Sakon shook his head. "…It's the only succor we may have right now. We don't have any other. Lord Orochimaru is our last hope now."

…

18:12

Two days have passed since Naruto's arrival and the other curious prisoners (save the three sleazebags) had yet to find out of his presented location, which was currently in the secluded part of the infirmary.

Sitting on his bed, Naruto stared at the wall, while Haruno checked his stitched wound.

"No redness or swelling. That's good. So far, your body is healing perfectly as always, Mr. Uzumaki."

Naruto nodded with a joke, "I ate a lot of vegetables when I was young."

Hinata giggled from the side while Sakura just smiled and handed her assistant the used bandages.

"We're going to rewrap the wound and fold the bandages in place so that you can be able to move freely without them falling off. It's going to be a little bit tight and painful at first, but I think you'll manage."

Naruto was pleasantly surprised, "I'm allowed to leave?" Sitting and lying in hospital bed all day long had made him restless, he had to fulfill his goal and finally get the hell out of the four-wall confinement.

"Yes. That is, if you feel you are ready to do so?"

"I am."

…

18:52

Nodding a 'thanks' to the two officers who helped him get back to his cell, Naruto turned to his empty room. It couldn't be called a pleasant feeling as it usually is when someone finally gets back home, but comparatively to the hospital it was sardonically better.

Through his short walk from the infirmary to the prison he hadn't caught as much as a glimpse of Shikamaru, the gang, Susanoo or anyone else; even prison itself was empty, which only meant that it was around supper and everyone was in the dining-hall stuffing themselves with food, which unfortunately couldn't be said to him as well. With his stomach being nearly ripped open, and because of that blasted gutter-knife operated out he had now bleeding insides healing shortly close, he wasn't allowed to eat anything except special nourishment vitamins which he'd have to get from the infirmary on daily basis starting now; that being meant as the infirmary becoming his dining-hall.

Holding a hand over his protesting stomach, Naruto carefully stepped towards the sink and made sure it wasn't, maybe by some absurd miracle, screwed back to the wall. And since he could easily withdraw it from the wall, he sighed as all seemed in order and his work had not been for not.

Not wanting to stay in the four-wall any longer, he decided to go out for some fresh air.

The lower he descended down the stairs, the louder could he hear inmates approaching the prison, which meant that 'feast' was over.

Finally stepped down the final steps, Naruto was just about to exit the prison main hall until he looked up and suddenly stopped.

Shikamaru and his gang were standing by the entrance and staring at him with wide eyes.

Pulling up a hand, he greeted them with a kind smile, "What's up?"

In seconds he was tackled to the ground by Lee, Kiba and Suigetsu. "NARUTO!"

"AAHHH! You Fucking Dipshits! GET OFF ME! It Fucking Hurts!" feeling stitches ready to rip open, Naruto screamed murder.

"ACK. We Are So Sorry!" yelled Lee, jumping off and pulling Kiba with him.

"Speak for yourself." grinned Suigetsu, helping Naruto stand up. "How you've been, Naru-chan?" slugging his arms over Naruto's shoulders, Suigetsu crashed him into a hug.

"I'm starting to reconsider my decision in coming here so soon."

Letting the blond go, Suigetsu made a hurtful look. "Mou…didn't you miss me too?"

'_Not as much as I wished…'_

The others quiet down as Shikamaru suddenly stepped in front of Naruto.

A slight pink colored Naruto's cheeks as Nara cupped his cheeks and leant down, giving him a hard and long kiss.

Kiba and Suigetsu 'ohhh'-ed sniggering while Lee cried about the beauty of 'love'.

Feeling the other inmates stop to stare at them, Naruto slid his hands around Shikamaru's shoulders and opened his mouth, letting the taller mop his mouth thoroughly.

Satisfied with the greeting and the display of possession, Shikamaru gave Naruto one more kiss before pulling away and pulling him into a gentle embrace.

Naruto sighed and he leant against the other's shoulder.

"How are you?" silently asked Shikamaru.

"Fine. I've been hearing some interesting news."

Pulling away, Nara held him around the waist. "Really? What about?"

"About your "heroic deeds" concerning Kabuto." playfully praised the blond, "I heard he's fallen into a coma from all the beating _someone_ has done."

Shikamaru sniggered. "Ahh…that. Though mind you, I'm not the only one at fault."

Naruto arched a brow. He knew who was the second 'at fault', he just wanted to know if Shikamaru would tell him the truth. "Oh? Who else?"

"Susanoo and Orochimaru."

First was understandable but… "Orochimaru?"

This time it was Shikamaru who arched a brow, "You seem more surprised by the latter than the first."

"That's 'cause I already knew that Itachi helped you. But why Orochimaru did?"

Shrugging, Shikamaru rubbed circles on Naruto's back, "We'll have to ask him later. He just told us that he did, and we should take that in mind, that's it."

Nodding, Naruto suddenly looked pass Nara's shoulder as his eyes caught shadowed red staring back at him. He could see characteristics that compared close to relief and calm in them, things Naruto would never guess Susanoo to have.

Releasing Shikamaru, Naruto stepped around him and came before Itachi, who was currently leaning against one of the cells.

Itachi's eyes lightly narrowed at seeing the blond clench his stomach in pain by every step he took, though not enough for the others to notice his concern.

Swallowing a lump, a glare and a growl, Naruto didn't trust his voice to speak for his mind, so instead he took a deep breath and outstretched his right hand forward as a sign of gratitude and maybe, just maybe, acceptance of companionship and offering of peace.

A sly smirk stretched over Itachi's features. Even though the boy didn't mention whatever for he was so willing to shake his hand all of a sudden, Itachi knew that it had everything to do with what he did to Kabuto. Though he didn't want a handshake… so he ignored the hand; instead, he reached behind his neck and unclasped a string holding the blue topaz.

Naruto's eyes slightly widened as he saw Itachi pull out his necklace from his shirt. _'How the Hell does it always end up in his grasp?'_ mentally growled the blond.

Unclasping the gem, Itachi shortened their distance by two small steps and carefully placed the jewelry back around the blond's neck for the second time; however, this time, with a small kiss on Naruto's forehead as a finishing touch.

Naruto froze, as the same could be said for the other prisoners watching them.

Gripping lightly on the confused blond's chin, Itachi pulled him at eyelevel and whispered…, "It's good to have you back with us, little fish." …before brushing his lips against Naruto's in a soft kiss.

Silence broke as catcalls and whistles overfilled the prison by other inmates' calls and chuckles; 'ooh'-ing at the affair rising about.

Naruto was ready to lose it, _'Forget peace and shit! I'm gonna slaughter him!'_

Two seconds was all it took, Itachi quickly pulled away and caught Naurto's fist before it met his chin. "Tsk-tsk-tsk…such a spark we have. It's a shame that you're using it only in violence. However…" Jerking Naruto by his hand, Itachi suddenly grabbed him around the waist and pulled him close enough to whisper into his ear, "Who said that it's a bad thing? Just be sure to save it till I have you all to myself."

Shikamaru didn't know whether to be pissed at Itachi for promptly ignored his warnings to not mess with the blond, and go and beat him up or just let him bath in glory before he strikes hard. He knew that Susanoo somehow came to liking the boy in more ways than one (even though it'll take time before he comes to accept it). Little did Naruto know….

However, with the whole acting he and Naruto pulled through, playing as two lovers, should he miss the opportunity to use the advantage and show himself as a possessive boyfriend just to spite Susanoo and tickle his nerves? Even if it was just a game? Even if Naruto didn't like either of them…yet? …No.

Before Naruto's burning mind could grasp the full meaning of Itachi's words and detonate, Itachi suddenly let him go and took a step back as Shikamaru abruptly stepped in between them and caught Itachi by his shirt.

"What do you think you're doing, Susanoo?" he growled possessively.

Itachi's eyes narrowed and he gripped Nara's wrist in a tight grasp, "Crumbling the impossible, Nara."

"HEY! What's Going On Here!"

Catching officers enter the inmate-made circle with demands for an explanation, Shikamaru and Itachi quickly released each other and took a step back, easily blending into the crowd and leaving the angry cops to interrogate the other inmates who had no idea what to tell.

Pulling confused and blinking Naruto up the stairs, Shikamaru and Itachi kept glaring at each other from the corner of their eyes till they finally reached the top and parted ways.

"This isn't over." they growled simultaneously before turning their backs and stomping away like children, leaving Naruto staring in between the two with weird looks.

'_What the Hell!'_

Following Shikamaru into their cell, Naruto was about to question what's gotten into him and Itachi all of a sudden until he saw Shikamaru trying to stiffen his laughter.

"Again. What the Hell!"

Shaking his head, Shikamaru rubbed his eyes. "Oh man, if only you knew what you're doing to him."

"Wha? Him who?"

'_Itachi. Who else, Naruto? The fact that you're refusing him is driving him mad as it is (although he'll never show or admit it), but more so when you're refusing him because of _me_ is simply outrageous…I don't think I even have enough imagination to visualize what methodical torture he's coming up with just to kill me. Then again, now that I think of it, I'm a dead man.'_ "Never mind, ignore it. Come here." standing up from Naruto's bed, Shikamaru suddenly enveloped the still blinking blond into a tight embrace. "God! I'm so glad you're alright…" _'…and I have no idea why.'_

"AAH! Not so rough dammit! It fucking hurts!" screamed the poor blond in pain. _'What the fuck is wrong with everyone today!'_

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thank ya so much:_ Savagehunger47, Tachi Kagahara, brokenfromthepast, Felnore, itachisgurl93, Living in Darkness, dragonzice, Lickumz, sousie, saya420, Conflicted Soul, ReaperLuci, Sky-eyed Kitsune, seto'swifey, narubby23, Stoic-Genius & CuteLikeMomiji! =DD

Conflicted Soul – I can't thank ya enough:)… I simply wuv you!=D


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 10**_

* * *

02:59

Stepping through the large double doors, Kyuubi looked around the spacious hollow room before proceeding forward.

In front of him stood a desk, where at the end of it, a man of late thirties sat with the chair turned facing the fireplace.

Folding his hands behind himself, Kyuubi addressed him, "Father."

The back of the chair turned around and Kyuubi held his breath as his father turned to face him. He did not look too 'fresh'… His flesh was paler than usual, eyes held dark bangs due to possible lack of sleep, though hair seemed as perfectly spiked as always.

"I've had a feeling you'd come to see me …as hard as it is to actually believe at times." the elder male stated, his deep voice holding no anger or meaning.

"Then is there a reason for me to explain 'what for'?"

The man just stared before asking, "Where's Naruto, Kyuubi?"

Kyuubi bit onto his tongue; his father knew very well where he was, but he had a feeling that he wanted him to say it with his own words just to feel the guilt of not telling it to his father sooner in favor of hiding the truth. "Konoha Prison."

"And why is it so that I find out of it only after a month?"

Kyuubi didn't miss the way his father's fingers twitched by his sides, though that didn't stop him from prolonging their silence just to taunt him. "…"

"You're not going to answer that?"

Purple eyes stared equally with his father's, "It's his will. He didn't want you to know because he does not want you to act recklessly."

"Recklessly?" the elder's voice slightly rose in volume.

"He cares, father. He does not want you to get caught. He knows you too well to predict what might happen if you slip."

Despite the insult, the elder could not protest. _'Only Naruto will think of the others' safety before his own.'_ Heaving a small exhale, he closed his eyes to calm down. "Why is he there in the first place?"

"…" Kyuubi looked away in guilt, "He is there because of me."

He didn't see how his father's eyes opened before lidding halfway. He didn't scold, simply when on asking further, "What's the sentence?"

"…Lifetime."

Hearing the sound of the chair move, Kyuubi dared open his eyes and was about to look up when a hand dropped on top of his head, and he almost jumped out of his skin.

"You're unusually nervous my son? Does my personality frighten you?"

"Tch!" glaring up at amused eyes of his father, Kyuubi quickly dropped all formalities and huffed, smacking the hand away from messing his beautiful hair, "Afraid? Of you? What's that supposed to mean?"

The elder smiled, "Pease do not deny it. I know you far better than you do yourself. And in case it troubles you, I'm not mad that you two exchanged places. I have a good guess what's been going through your little heads at that time and understand it. So there is no need for you to fear my reaction."

'_Fear you?'_ "Hah…Even bugs are more frightening than you!"

"Don't compare me to bugs, Kyuubi Namikaze. Or you're gonna find yourself turning into one."

"Like that's even possible, geezer."

"What was that?"

"Can't wait to have the experience."

"Che," scowling at the smirking redhead, the man pocketed his hands. "I knew I should have washed your mouth out with soap when you were little, too bad your father made me vow to never hurt his precious little _demons_."

Kyuubi couldn't help but grin at his adopted father. "You always had a soft spot for him, Pain. No wonder why you're so attached to Naruto and vice versa."

After the death of their real father – Minato Namikaze, Kyuubi and Naruto were left in a care of Minato's best-friend and their godfather – Pain.

For barely two five-year-olds', it didn't mean much when their new father turned out to be a dangerous mobster; seeing that they had no idea what it meant.

Thus…during the years, they grew with thoughts of crime and law-breaking as a second education in life… for them it seemed normal.

Pain's eyes lidded halfway, he was a bit disappointed that the redhead didn't mention his name when he talked about the…'attachment' as he so put it. _'You are no different Kyuubi. You and your brother are the only family I have left. You both mean too much for me to lose you.'_ But that didn't mean that he'll go around saying it loud now; his pride was too firm; he hated children…except those two who grew under his cold yet protective wing. "Why does Naruto not want me to help him?"

"As I said before, he does not want you getting involved. So far no-one outside our net knows that he and I are related to you. And if it means keeping you safe, frankly, I think it should stay that way."

From one point Pain felt touched by their care over his safety, …but from the other he had to glare, _'Despite the fact that I love them like my sons, I can't help but want to strangle them at times.'_ "You are both the same! Stubborn and vain!"

Kyuubi mentally chuckled as Pain turned him his back and walked to stare out the window. Of course he'll never come out in the open and simply say something like 'I'm worried about you two' or 'thank you for caring so deep', but in exchange say something rude. Though what more could he want from a criminal?

Pleased with the scored reaction, Kyuubi headed for the exit. He didn't have to ask to know that Pain was going nowhere anymore; his last sentence and action hid many meanings that indicated him giving up. _'Naruto will be overjoyed.'_

Halting by the entrance, Kyuubi couldn't stop himself from glancing pass his shoulder and whisper out, "We love you too, Pain."

The orange haired male's shoulders stiffened before his eyes turned towards the doors, but none was there anymore. Frowning, Pain huffed and crossed his arms, "Little bastard. Thinks he can read me so well." Though despite the mood, a small smile was found merging his lips.

…

After three days…

12:30  
(New Zealand)

Walking into a living room, Kyuubi grabbed a phone sitting on a low table and dialed a number. "Hello? / Yes. / Connect me to Japan. / …Kobe. / Yes. / …Konoha Prison."

Waiting for the signal to connect through, Kyuubi stepped out into the balcony.

…

09:37  
(Japan)

"Uzumaki!"

Looking up from the pills he was about to take, Naruto nodded questioningly to the officer Genma Shiranui.

"You have a phone-call."

Swallowing down his nourishment pills with water, Naruto handed the glass back to nurse Hinata and thanked her and doctor Haruno for his daily check up before following the bandana wearing officer down the infirmary floor.

Grabbing a phone hanging in the hall of the infirmary, Naruto glanced at Genma who had his back turned to him and answered.

"Yea?"

"Hey, it's me. How are you?"

Hearing his brother's voice, Naruto straightened up and placed the speaker to another ear. "Hi! I'm fine. How was the trip? Did ya meet with father yet?"

"Yeah, the trip was ok. And don't worry about Pain. Everything's fine now."

"Does that mean that he'll stay cool?"

"Yes. He won't come. At least as far as I am here to make sure he doesn-…"

Hearing his brother suddenly cut midsentence, Naruto frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Do you want to talk to him?" suddenly asked Kyuubi.

Naruto sighed, "He's standing right next to you, isn't he?"

"You could say that."

Naruto was sure Kyuubi was smirking at Pain right now, who was probably scowling at him in return. "Do I have a choice?"

…

12:43

Outstretching his hand forward, Pain gestured for Kyuubi to hand the phone to him, but the redhead boldly ignored his silent demand and continued speaking,

"Do you want to talk to him?"

Pain's eye twitched as Kyuubi smirked at him without handing the phone over.

"You could say that." the redhead spoke into the phone, heating the man's patience further.

Nodding at Naruto's rhetorical question, Kyuubi finally handed the phone to Pain.

Watching Kyuubi exit the balcony with a small smirk on his face, Pain leaned against the balcony railings and pressed the phone to his ear. "You have one second to explain."

…

09:43

Naruto opened his mouth before closing it back, _'One second to explain why I hid everything from you? Umm…'_ "I'm sorry?" _'Is that good?'_

"Good enough." grumbled Pain on the other end. "How bad is your wound?"

"Not too bad, since I can walk."

"It could've been all avoided, if you just _told_ me you're in prison!"

Rubbing his eyes, Naruto sighed as Pain's voice became sterner. _'Overprotective gangster.'_ "I'm _fine_! Don't worry. I'm going to pull through."

"Why don't you want me to come and get you out? It'll be much easier."

'_Easier my ass!'_ "I don't want you getting involved. Besides," biting his lip, Naruto skipping a glimpse at Genma, who was flipping some sort of a magazine he found, before whispering out, "I'm already working on _that_ part."

Pain paused on the other line. Naruto was sure that he knew what he was referring to and no doubt was thinking it over. "…How long?" finally the man asked.

'_How long will it take for me to bust out?'_ "Perhaps 2m-s."

"Two _Months_?" receiving a snappish hiss as a reply, Naruto bit his teeth and clenched his eyes, waiting for the worst. "That's too long! I'm coming over-…"

"NO!" Flinching at his own shout, Naruto cursed and quickly looked at Genma who momentarily turned to stare at him. Stammering in his head, Naruto offer the officer a smile while speaking back into the phone, "I mean…N-no, dad…tell Kyuubi that he can't eat dog food, he'll get indigestion."

Pain was probably scowling at the phone in confusion while Naruto tried to lead the curious officer's thoughts into another direction.

"Alright, I'll tell him, but he won't be happy."

"Nonsense… I'm sure he will." Succeeding in distracting the officer who huffed and went back to flipping his magazine, Naruto heaved a small sigh and turned his attention back to his father. "Look… I've got everything under control. So please, don't come. If you do, then my whole work will be all for shit."

"I don't care." easily brushed Pain.

Glaring at the phone, Naruto started hissing at it, "Why you ungrateful parent-wannabe! I'm doing this for you, damn it! …Don't you understand that you'll get caught if you come here!"

"I said I don't care!"

"Damn it, dad! If you'll enter this country I'll never talk to you!"

"If you call five minutes of strained silence 'never'… I'm sure I'll live with that."

"Lousy son-of-a-… Oh yeah? Fine then! But mind one thing! If you step even an inch over the borders of Japan, I'm not only gonna tell _everyone_ you're middle name, but I'm also gonna hand Kyuubi your account number."

A silent pause followed before Pain hectored, "You wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I?"

Hearing a long, low growl, Naruto beamed, already knowing what that meant. _'Victory!'_

Good thing it wasn't an open meeting, 'cause Naruto was sure he'd be dead on the ground the moment he mentioned 'account'…

"…Very well." finally came a forced out grumble.

"Yes! I love you, dad!"

…Then again if Naruto saw Pain in person, he wouldn't have missed witnessing a small tint of pink on his scowling face.

Pain rarely exchanged affections with his adopted sons openly, but whenever it came to be, it was always brushed away faster than it could sink in; it was unbecoming to him.

"I'm giving you only two months, Naruto Namikaze! Note, that if you're not out by then, I'm dragging you out myself. And it's _not_ going to be gentle on both parts – yours and prison's. Understood?"

"Crystal!"

"Good! Be safe my son."

And with that the other line ended. Biting his lip to suppress a grin, Naruto hung the phone up. _'What a lovely conversation.'_

…

11:04

Stepping out into the yard, Naruto's eyes casted everywhere around the field before doing a double-take as they saw Suigetsu and Susanoo's cellmate Kisame have a one-on-one arm-wrestle, which was even more unusual when he saw them both grinning at each other…_and_…with the other members of Itachi and Shikamaru's gang piling around in a circle cheering them on.

'_Is this for real?'_ blinking, Naruto turned his face to the side when a sudden arm dropped around his shoulders and he looked up at Shikamaru.

"Amazing, isn't it?" lightning up a cigarette, Shikamaru sighed and led Naruto to the side.

"Was that what I just saw back there really _there_…or have I gone insane?" wondered Naruto, still pondering over the image of two enemy gangs making a decent picture together.

"While you were gone, some rather interesting things have happened… As far as you can see, my gang and Susanoo's have sort a blended in with one another."

"You mean to say that you and Itachi actually made _peace_?"

"Us? No. The gang? Yes. Susanoo and I are still on daggers, while our _friends_ made a rather one colored bleach."

"That so? Looks more to me how the 'mighty' have fallen!" grinning up at him, Naruto mockingly said, "It seems that the commander cannot align his army anymore. Are you slacking off, _general Nara_?"

"Not necessarily." Taking a seat on their usual spot on the benches, Shikamaru dragged Naruto along with him. "As a leader I simply don't care what they do as long as they do it with decent intentions, and let them have free reign. However, if the time comes when they have to stand against their newly enemy-turned-friends, they'll have no choice but to obey and do as I say."

"My…aren't we harsh." Pinching Nara's cheek, Naruto chuckled as the brunet glared at him before attacking him with pinches himself…

…

15:35

Searching around his covers, Shikamaru finally found what he was looking for and sat down next to Naruto on his mattress.

"Here." he said, handing Naruto a primitive looking eggbeater.

Smiling, Naruto took the object and evaluated its built. "What did you tell chef-Choji?"

"Don't worry about him. He'll never ask, he'll never tell."

"Ah…that easy?"

Shrugging, Shikamaru stretched out into the bed. "Anyways, how do you plan on using it? I doubt that with its current form it'll be much use in breaking down the wall."

"No worries. It just needs a little bit readjusting."

"Hm."

Whatever the two planned on saying next was suddenly interrupted as loud applauds of clapping and cheering broke on the first storey.

Curious, Naruto and Shikamaru both rose from the bed and advanced the railings, wondering who was being applauded and whatever for.

A tall man of close thirty years was freed out of his heavy cuffs and escorted through the opening gates as he was finally released from his months' long isolation.

With hair as black as midnight, shaped by wild spikes that reached his middle back, only gave compliments to his well built and dark obsidian eyes.

Spreading his hands wide, the man held a menacing grin on his lips with an ever present dark fierceness in the eyes as he walked into the gang population. "Ladies… I'm back."

Noting the way Shikamaru stiffened, Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion, "Who is that?"

"Madara Uchiha." Tearing his eyes away from the scene, Shikamaru grabbed Naruto by the wrist and pulled him back into their cell. Not noticing the dark eyes that caught the abrupt movement and curiously peered upwards.

Getting pushed onto his bed, Naruto frowned at Shikamaru's sudden behavior. "Okay… And? Does this mysterious Madara have a background?"

"Remember when I told you there are far worse prisoners to be careful of, worse than Orochimaru? Well this is one of them."

'_Worse than Orochimaru?'_ "Are you saying that this Madara is some kind of a psychotic-pedophile?"

"Close enough. Uchiha Madara is a mass murderer." elaborated Shikamaru, "He killed about twelve children; raped and murdered near thirteen women and men alike. It's best in everyone's interests to stay away from him. Especially for someone like you."

Naruto was getting annoyed by this. Whenever there seemed to be a problem occurring, he always found himself tangled into its middle without any consent. "Me again? Why?"

"Simple. You're new here." clarified Shikamaru, keeping an eye on the situation happening downstairs, which was still the same – with inmates greeting Madara of his return from a five month spent asylum. "Since you're new, you're more vulnerable. Madara has a sick mind. He likes everything that is 'fresh' and 'unmarked', especially when it comes in a form of a person. He knows every inmate in this prison by heart, basically making you an easy target."

"So what are you trying to say? That I'm toast?"

"…Pretty much."

Crossing his arms, Naruto huffed and leant against the bedside wall, "Is this a way to try and make me feel any better? Because if what, it ain't working."

Rolling his eyes, Nara clenched the bridge of his nose, "I'm not trying to frighten you. I'm just telling you to be very careful if you suddenly find yourself anywhere near him."

"Ok then. Is digging a hole in the ground and hiding my head in it in hopes he'll just walk pass and not see me careful enough?"

Frowning at the blond's mockery, Shikamaru warned, "I suggest you to take this seriously Naruto. Madara is a dangerous person. And if it's possible, I want you to stay away from him. At any cost."

Sighing, Naruto messed up his hair to ease his building inner frustration, "You know damn well that in this place it _is_ impossible to do. I won't be able to avoid him forever. Besides, if he likes everything 'new' as you place it, I'm rather sure someone will tell him about me…eventually."

Despite the ugly reality, Shikamaru knew it was true. "Yes. But it still doesn't mean that you should lack in precaution."

…

02:05

Listening to the night guards' steps finally fading pass their cell and down the stairs, Naruto silently pulled the covers off and climbed out of the bed.

Shikamaru set up and gently landed behind Naruto, who was already working on pulling the sink aside.

"Are you sure you're fine with this?" nodding towards Naruto's bandaged stomach, Shikamaru was slightly reluctant to let Naruto go into the walls with such a serious wound still intact.

"It's alright. I got this. I won't be long." Smiling at him reassuringly, Naruto kneeled to the floor and crawled through the hole.

Sighing, Shikamaru pushed the sink to cover the hole and walked over to the bars, keeping a lookout.

…

02:10

Wondering around the prison bowels, Naruto kept his ears open and eyes up front, searching for the objective of matter.

'_There.'_ Finally spotting the main air-conditioning system connected to prison's general ventilation, Naruto went to search around something that could help him reach the three and a half meter high vent and something with what to break it.

…

02:44

Looking at his digital watch, Shikamaru ran a hand through his untied hair and heaved a long sigh. _'What's taking so long?'_

…

02:45

Brushing sweat out of his forehead and ignoring the burning feeling on his stomach, Naruto gently placed a metal pole (-he got from the room he marked as his escaping center) on the ground and pushed the dusted wooden table (-he retreated from the same room) vertically against the wall. Grabbing the pole, he tested his foot against the table to make sure it won't move and climbed it. Supporting himself against the wall, Naruto stretched out towards the running vent, and slammed the metal pole into it. Sparkles fizzed out as the electronics broke and the system stopped running, halting all the ventilation units of the prison.

Cracking his eyes open, Naruto evaluated his work before pulling the pole out. But since it was jammed deep, he had to use a bit more force, which however resulted him to go overbalance and accidentally fall from the table, slamming back first against the metallic catwalk.

"SHIT!"

…

03:42

Glaring at the sink while leaning his back against the bars, Shikamaru kept on reminding himself what he'll do to the blond over and over, _'I'm gonna Kill Him!'_

Finally, seeing the sink move, Shikamaru's features revived and he cast a look down the prison hall before going over and helping Naruto out. "What the fuck took you so long? Have yo-…" Grabbing Naruto's arms, Shikamaru pulled him up but quickly cut himself midsentence as he spotted red all over Naruto white t-shirt.

"Shit! You're bleeding!" Pushing the sink carelessly back against the wall, not caring how loud or silent it was, Shikamaru quickly led gasping Naruto over to the bed and set him down.

"Fuck, what happened?" dropping to his knees, the brunet made quick work on discarding Naruto off his shirt and moved towards the blood-soaked bandages.

"I slipped…," hissing in pain, Naruto breathed the words out, "…fell…and tore open the stitches in process."

"Man, you need a doctor."

"And what the hell am I supposed to say to her?" snapped the blond. "That I accidentally fell out of the bed while having sex with you? Ha!"

Nara arched a brow that was soon followed by an arrogant smirk, "Not a bad idea. I'm sure she'll believe it. Besides, sex itself could've easily made you rip the stitches off while _arching in pleasure for me_."

Gaping at the bold brunet, Naruto spluttered even more when Shikamaru walked before the bars and started shouting for the officer.

"Are you fucking _serious_?"

…

04:04

Leaning against the wall, Shikamaru watched Haruno work on Naruto's bleeding wound with a tired yet focused look on her face. Such a work as a prison doctor shouldn't be given to a woman. With all the foolish and clumsy inmates around, it was always one problem after the other, which however gained no peace and no relaxation; everything could go wrong at any if not every minute.

'_For one I feel sorry for her.'_ Running a hand through his hair, Shikamaru glanced over to the doors as nurse Hinata walked in with new bandages in her hands. _'And her too.'_

"So." Finished with the bandages, doctor Haruno helped the now 'fixed' Naruto lean against the headboard and took off her gloves. "Mind telling me how this happened?" she asked, staring pointedly at Nara, as if saying that it was his fault Naruto had to over-go another stitching process.

From his spot Naruto opened one of his still anesthesia dazed eyes and glare at him. _'Don't you fucking dare say _that_!'_

Hiding a smirk, Shikamaru chose to ignore Naruto's threatening signals and rubbed his neck, "…It's too troublesome to say out loud…" he began, glimpsing at the three night guards standing in the room, also curious, _'Bastards!'_, "…But let's just say that things got a bit…_overheated_."

The night guards exchanged knowing grins, _'Double bastards!'_, while Naruto slammed a pillow over his growling face, _'Damn you Nara! I hope you choke!'_. Hinata covered her blushing cheeks behind her notepad.

"Oh… Ah…! Err…, I see…" scratching her cheek, Sakura coughed away her own blush and cleared her throat. "However, that is no excuse." she said, lecturing Naruto, "You could've gotten really hurt, Mr. Uzumaki! You should be more careful with yourself before agreeing to such…umm…things."

Nara grinned as the doctor stopped pointing fingers at him and in exchange started doing it to Naruto.

Slamming his pillow into his lap, Naruto glared, _'Oh, now it's my fault? Fucking slacker! If you're making such bloody embarrassing excuses then take the damn blame! But fine. If that's how you want it, Nara. Then Fine!'_ "Well weren't he so damn _needy_, I might have been a-okay, thank you!"

Shikamaru's mouth agape at the blond's sudden accusation, "What a-…!" _'Oh you did not just drop your entire fault on me!'_ Even though it was supposed to be a simple lie that would lead the doctor's thoughts out of suspicion, it quickly turned into a quarrel between Naruto and Shikamaru upon whose blame it was to take. _'Alright then. Two can play at this game.'_ "Hn. If you call a person who is suddenly straddled by particular _someone_ in the middle of the fucking night just to grind against him and beg for sex only to result the said person to suddenly snap and pounce 'needy', then you must be disoriented."

Naruto's eyes went wide just as an embarrassing blush crept proudly onto his cheeks. _'Fuck, Nara! How dare you turn tables on me! You're dead!'_ "I did no such thing!" he nearly screamed, throwing the pillow at the secretly smirking Nara.

Officers were turning red from trying and failing to hold in their sniggers; Hinata had to take a seat in order to stay conscious and not faint from all the embarrassment flying around; as for Sakura – she finally snapped. "ALRIGHT! I Get It Already! Just make sure it doesn't happen again!"

…

06:21

Seeing no reason to sleep as morning was already approaching, Naruto stayed awake only to kill Shikamaru with his glares and hisses in mental thought.

"You just had to pick that excuse, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto," encircling his hands around Naruto waist, Shikamaru gently dragged him close to place a kiss on his forehead. "I was too tired to think of anything else. Besides, we need to keep on an image, remember? I think it only made a benefit."

"Hmph!" crossing his arms, Naruto closed his eyes and turned his face away. "I have a define suspicion that you're enjoying this too much."

"Oh come now, don't be like that."

Opening his one eye to glare at the slightly pouting Nara, Naruto mumbled out, "Man, why the hell do I still put up with you?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you secretly _desire_ me?"

"Ha!"

"Is that a 'yes'?"

"NO!"

…

14:38

While Naruto lay on his bed messing with Nara's obtained eggbeater, Shikamaru leant against the cool bars, watching disgruntled inmates walk around their cells or simply lie around on beds or floors while waving their hands, books or anything that could produce at least the slightest amount of wind on their heating skin.

With the air-conditioning unit disabled, the temperature in the prison had gone over the limit, and the outside's heat with 37degrees Celsius wasn't helping much either.

If not addressed respectively, inmates could easily get irritated and enraged.

Clicking his tongue, Madara finally rose from his bed with an irritating look on his face and approached the bars. "Hey! Mizuki!"

Shikamaru's eyes snapped downwards, spotting officer Mizuki walk down the hall with a cool glass of water in hand before getting stopped by Madara's whistle.

"When do you plan on doing something about the heat?"

Looking at the black-haired convict, the whitely-grey haired man shrugged his shoulders indifferently, "We're doing the best we can."

"Now ain't that some shit of an excuse. It's hundred degrees here! Why can't you fix the shit up!" sneered Madara.

Mizuki was unsympathetic with the man's concerns and retorted back, "Do I look like a plumber to you, con? Shut up and keep your voice down!"

A loud signal suddenly rung out and the doors opened, calling all inmates out for the count. "Line up!"

Stepping out of their cell, Naruto and Shikamaru stared at the hall below their storey as inmates walked out.

Pocketing his hands, Itachi stepped besides his cellmate and furrowed his brows in peculiar curiosity as Madara suddenly took a bold step further than the drawn line.

"If you're this sluggish to do even the smallest amount of labor, then why not simply transfer us all someplace cooler? Honestly, I believe even Africa would do."

Turning around at the laughter and rumble of other inmates, Mizuki looked at Madara wearily. "Get back in line, Uchiha."

Though in such a heat, the man refused to budge, which only sparked confidence in some of the inmates as they also stepped over the line.

That got Mizuki's attention and he reached for his baton to make himself clear. "Are there going to be problems?"

Smirking, Madara tilted his heat to the side. "I hope you know how to use that stick, officer. Because when coming close to me with that thing, you won't want to know _where_ it would end after."

Laughter crawled over the gang population as Mizuki's expression flashed in a second of horror before being overcame with a supreme confidence of an officer. "I won't repeat myself again. Get your ass back in line, Madara!"

Licking his lips, Madara stayed put. "Tell you what. I will move…when you get _your_ ass over to the system and fix the damn heating problem."

Other inmates upheld the demand thoroughly as they joined Madara by his side.

Officer Mizuki swallowed a small lump, getting unnerved by the inmates' reactions and sudden disobedience; even those above started to get too loud for ones liking.

Sensing trouble approaching, officer Raido began radioing the other officers.

"Quit being such a crybaby, Uchiha." Staying cool, Mizuki chose a bad approach as he began taunting the man's limits. "A grown man making such a squabble over a little heat? You're showing a sad example to your _pets_."

The black-hair's eyes narrowed and he took a calm step closer to the smug officer. "You want to see what a grown crybaby looks like, officer Mizuki?" The other inmates 'ooohh'-ed at the frank threat. "Why don't you come here so I can _show_ you?"

Annoyed by the man, Mizuki snarled and shortened their distance without fail. "Hm! So you wish to cool off, inmate? Here!" clenching his glass of water, Mizuki suddenly splashed it in Madara's face.

Stopping, the bronze-skinned man held patience which however could not be said the same about the ganging inmates behind him as they all advanced towards Mizuki with yelled out threats and menacing gestures.

Stepping in, Raido ordered the inmates back. "Step back!" he warned, holding his hand over his black-jack.

Brushing water from his chin, Madara showed inviolability. "We'll step back, when the air-conditioning system is amended." he said calmly, getting backed up by the fired up prisoners.

Everything started to get out of control fast as inmate after inmate started letting out verbal rage upon the orders.

Pissed, Mizuki finally shouted out as he had had enough, "Alright That Does It! LOCKDOWN! Everyone Back In Their Cells! I SAID EVERYONE BACK IN THEIR CELLS!"

Exchanging looks with Shikamaru, Naruto and him retreated into their cell.

Thought despite the officer's command, some of the inmates refused to return to their cells as they ganged up besides Madara and barked at the slowly retreating officers.

…

"Nicely done. You got your lockdown, now do your thing." Plopping on Naruto's bed, Shikamaru grunted as Naruto suddenly jerked a sheet from under him and forced him to drop to the floor. "AHH!"

"You're coming with me." said Naruto, spreading his sheet widely open.

"Huh?"

"You heard me. I can't do much with my stomach twisting my insides in different directions every time I move, so you're going to help me."

"Tch… fine." grouchily Shikamaru straightened up.

"Hang out a sheet." handing the brunet the sheet, Naruto retrieved the eggbeater from under the bed and went towards the sink.

A fine dark eyebrow shot up, and Shikamaru looked at Naruto with a wide smirk, "You do realize that when someone hangs out a sheet in their cell it means they're about to get _real friendly_, right?"

Cursing and blushing, Naruto growled and pushed the sink away. "Urgh! Shut the hell up!"

Chuckling, Shikamaru covered the bars and followed Naruto through the hole, concealing its opening behind the sink after them.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thank ya:_ itachisgurl93, sousie, Conflicted Soul, Miko Vampire, Felnore, saya420, Savagehunger47, Naruto00, Tachi Kagahara, narubby23, Narutopokefan, seto'swifey, brokenfromthepast, Stoic-Genius, FadingFascination & CHARbones! XDD

_Replies:  
_Conflicted Soul – ;D :*

Miko Vampire – nah…Shikamaru ain't forgetting his girlfriend & Naruto knows about her;) What they both have is just a little act that fools other inmates in thinking that they're a pair, seeing that Shikamaru has to protect Naruto from other inmates;)) As for Itachi's dreams…I don't know? Maybe…maybe not…XD

Naruto00 – no worries;)) & thank ya!:)

seto'swifey – nope, not really. Shikamaru just likes to tease him;))

Felnore – not quiet. Shikamaru & Naruto are just messing around;))


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 11**_

_**

* * *

**_

15:02

Things in Konoha Prison thickened rapidly; although most of the inmates complied with the commands over the lockdown and retreated to their cells, some still stayed out.

For Mizuki and Raido it was too much to handle as angered inmates started to spread about, putting them in a situation where they could do nothing other than back away from the cell block.

Quickly locking themselves behind the gates, both watched as loose inmates packed before the caged guard-booth and climbed over the barrier wires, shaking and kicking them threateningly and furiously, letting loose their building ire.

Bathing in the feel of chaotic disorder, Madara sniggered with glee. "What's wrong, Mizuki?" he taunted from behind the raging inmates before the cage, "Gotten a bit scared, have ya?"

Glaring at the chuckling Uchiha, Mizuki grabbed his baton in anger and slamming it against one of the inmates' fingers clenching the wire barrier.

"You bitch!" screamed the finger-wounded inmate before resuming his kicks against the cage in a fury.

"What's going on here?" arriving into the scene, Asuma along with Izumo and Kotetsu looked sharply at the frantic convicts behind the barrier before snapping their eyes towards Mizuki and Raido. "What happened?" Asuma demanded an explanation.

"The cons refused to get back in their cells. We initiated lockdown." explained Mizuki, staring unnerved at the snappish inmates.

"As for the result… you can see fine on your own," added Raido.

"Ahh…officer Sarutobi Asuma, coincidence meeting you here." The inmates spread apart to give Madara a free way towards the guard-booth.

"What is the meaning of this, Uchiha?" growled Asuma.

"This?" looking behind himself at the pack of 'wolves' called convicts, Madara clarified, "This is rebellion. For which rise you can thank a polecat over there." at that, he pointed a sharp finger towards Mizuki.

Asuma glared at Mizuki, who went agape. "What the fuck did I do?"

Deciding to deal with him later, Asuma turned to the choleric inmate, "I suggest you to settle your dogs down, Madara," he warned, "…or you're going straight back to the box."

Madara was not intimidated, "I doubt that under the given circumstances _you're_ in any way to give me demands, Sarutobi." The prisoners eagerly agreed, backing him up with shouts and yells.

"Besides…we have some demands of our own." the Uchiha suddenly stated.

The correctional officer was not pleased by hearing out an inmate's demands, but in the given situation it was his best way to get everything settled back without broken bones. "Which is?"

"Is it hard to guess?" Glaring at them with beads of sweat pouring down his face, Madara made things slow and clear, "We need air. Now."

…

15:05

Leading Shikamaru through the catwalks, Naruto soon led him to the area of their main escaping route.

With the slightest bit of light coming from the halls' ceiling lamps, Shikamaru stared at the huge concrete wall with a small frown. _'So this is it huh?'_

Stepping towards the wall, Naruto knocked against the carved middle. "Somewhere behind this wall is a drainage pipe leading to the prison's sewer system. If we get through this wall, we can get into that pipe. The pipe itself is contacted with the infirmary sewer system; and once we get into the infirmary, we can get out of here."

…

15:12

Shaking his head, Asuma tried to reason with the man, "This won't be done as easy, Madara. We need to go over the procedure first before going into the repairs. It'll take some time."

"Fuck your procedure! Fix the damn vent!" shouted one of the inmates, slamming a hand against the guard cage.

"You might as well pick your pace. The hounds are already too loose to hold their ground." calmly advised Madara, nodding towards the furious inmates. "I think that an hour is best I can guarantee… because they won't hold any longer."

"It's not possible to fix this in just one hour." said Izumo, "If what it'll take less than five."

"We can't wait that long." retorted irritated Madara.

Before Asuma could try and convince Madara into cooperation, Mizuki decided to be the 'protagonist' and settle everything by shouting, "Oh shut up, Uchiha! With your status do you think you're even worthy to listen to? Your release had not even over-gone a full day, and you're already making a mess out of your records. You're bastard ways disgust me."

Not one for such accusation, Madara scowled, "That was a bad approach, Mizuki…" he turned them his back. Walking back into the hall, he ignored Asuma's shouts after him and passed the gathered goons with a few whispered words, "Break the gate."

The inmates fired themselves at the barrier guarding the officers away from them and went all crazy over it.

A bit restless, Kotetsu asked, "What should we do?"

Turning his eyes away from glaring at Mizuki, who simply blinked at him with an offended 'what?', Asuma rubbed his temples and sighed; with their only, dare he say, "reasonable" source gone, there was no use to convince those goons (or say – Madara's hounds) to settle down…, besides that the heat itself was only worsening that attempt. "In this heat it's useless to reason with them." he replied, noting the way inmates struggled to move the wire barrier out of its weld, which he knew was a rather useless attempt. "Might as well let them wear themselves out."

…

15:08

Back within the prison bowels, Naruto handed Shikamaru the eggbeater, whose form he had altered into something similar to a crude drill.

Examining the weird fashioned thing in his hands, Shikamaru looked questioningly at the blond. "I'm not too sure if I want to know…but what a hell is this?"

"_That_ is our key through this wall." answered Naruto, gesturing for the brunet to come closer to the concrete built. "These markings here…are the wall's weak points." he explained, pointing at the carved dots on the wall's surface, "Their shape makes a form of an 'x'. If we drill small holes through each of these points, they'll weaken the structure integrity of the wall far enough to hammer a way through it. Without them, it's useless to bang it."

"And you plan on doing it all with a 'modernized' eggbeater?" presenting Naruto the weak object, Shikamaru's eyes lidded skeptically.

"Me? No." pointing to himself, Naruto shook his head, but as he pointed at Shikamaru, a sly grin formed, "You? Yes."

Slouching with a sigh, Shikamaru rubbed his nape, "Do I at least get paid for this?"

"Umm…no."

"Che."

…

15:26

The officers' feel of security was dropping rapidly as the guard booth's protective barrier began to shake loose in one of the corners.

'_Shit!'_ cursing their luck, Asuma dropped his confidence over the barrier's endurance and quickly instructed Mizuki to seal off all of the entrances leading out; Raido to inform the warden; while he, Kotetsu and Izumo relocated to his office.

Seeing the guards retreat, the inmates shouted after them in mockery and anger though never halted in their work of shaking the barrier off.

Stepping into Asuma's office, Kotetsu and Izumo quickly walked over to the security monitors displaying them the situation in the prison, while Asuma opened his safe and grabbed a handgun with a load.

…

A wide smirk spread all over Madara's face as he watched the wire barrier finally break out of its holders and fall loudly to the ground.

Shouts of accomplishment broke through the gang as they jumped into the guard-booth and began messing with the control units, freeing the closed inmates out of their cells and into the havoc.

Stepping into the booth, Madara looked over the controls and pressed one of the buttons. He grinned with glee as the backdoors to the guard-booth suddenly opened up.

…

Watching through the monitors as inmates made a mess out of the booth before following Madara through the opening backdoor, Asuma seethed and loaded his gun.

"This has gone too far." whispered startled Izumo.

"I wish I could argue." grumbled Asuma and grabbed his transmitter, pressing a button he spoke, "All units. This is Asuma. Our sector has been breached. I want the fist-sector evacuated and shut down. All access to second-sector cut off now."

…

Stepping out of their cell, Sakon, Kidoumaru and Jiroubou exchanged knowing glances before walking towards the stairs leading to the second storey.

Pushing past the rushing prisoners, the three goons soon found themselves before Nara and Uzumaki's cell.  
Having no guts to go and confront Orochimaru to plead for his help, they decided to finish the job Kabuto started and simply annihilate the Uzumaki before he ratted out on them. And with the riot arising, they had just gained a great opportunity to do so.

Looking up at the cell, Kidoumaru smirked as he saw a sheet hanging over the bars, covering the entire view away from the outside. "Someone's having fun."

"Aa…would be a shame to disturb it, ne?" sharing similar grins, Sakon and Kidoumaru laughed while Jiroubou simply stayed still.

"Shall we?" A bit excited, Sakon grabbed the sheet and quickly pushed it to the side. Though as soon as they peeked in, under secret hopes to witness some 'intimate action', their eyes furrowed in confusion and disappointment when all they saw was an abandoned cell with no Uzumaki or Nara.

Entering in, they looked all around the cell to make sure the two weren't hiding anywhere, which quickly turned into another disappointment.

Standing up, after checking the bed's bottom, Sakon 'tsk'-ed and cursed, "Fuck, their not here."

"Perhaps they left with the rest to explore the prison?" wondered Kidoumaru.

"Aa…then let's go join them." Finding new delight that covered their chagrin, the three goons smirked and went for the exit with intentions of finding one 'wanted' Naruto Uzumaki.

Though as soon as Kidoumaru jerked the covers aside, he blinked as he nearly bumped into someone's chest.

Looking up, the three cons went pale as they met eye to eye with Susanoo, who did not look too pleased.

"What are you doing here?" he asked through grit teeth, entering the cell and forcing the three bags to take hasty steps back.

"W-…we were just…umm… no-nothing." stammering in his words, Sakon nearly swallowed his tongue as he suddenly bumped against the sink, signaling him the end of his escaping space.

In their flutter neither of the three even noticed the way the sink stirred out of its place, but Itachi did.

Hearing dim sounds of metal's grin against the rock-floor, Itachi's eyes snapped towards the sink and a fine eyebrow rose up as he spotted its angle slightly inclined to the side.

Clearing his throat, Kidoumaru tried to weasel them out of the mess before it got ugly, "…Look…we-we…we don't want any trouble… We were just trying to…" But Susanoo wasn't even interested in what the man had to say, let alone hear it out. So in lieu, he simply told them to…

"Leave."

The sudden order confused and stiffened the three goons. _'What! Is he actually letting us go this easily?'_

Spotting no movements, Itachi's heavy gaze landed on the frozen figures. "Did I stutter? I said _leave_! Now."

That was enough for the three to fly out of the room, too stupefied and too overjoyed over the fact that they were being let out of Itachi's claws with no broken bones to actually care _why?_

Making sure the nuisances were gone, Itachi tilted his head to the side and walked towards the sink. All it took was a light push of his fingers to reveal a hidden hole concealed behind it, which was wide enough to squeeze through a grown man. …A profound escaping route.

A delightful smirk crept towards Itachi's lips and he gently pushed the sink back in its place. _'Well I'll be…'_ Pocketing his hands, he looked one more time around the empty room before silently leaving it.

…

15:26

"Are you sure your calculations are correct? How do you even know where the drainage pipe is exactly? What if I'm drilling someplace completely misdirect?" asked Shikamaru, sweating all over from the lack of air and drilling he did against the wall with a freaking eggbeater.

"Calculations? Heh…no. Basically I didn't use any specific ways or gadgets to find the weak-points, but simply guessed on the feeling." grinned Naruto.

"Feeling huh? What if your feeling is wrong?"

"Then you're going to hit one of the gas pipes behind the wall and kill us both."

Shikamaru stopped drilling and looked at him not amused.

A suddenly sound of something hard slamming against the ground brought both of their attentions somewhere above them in the cell block.

"What a hell is going on out there?"

…

15:30

Turning off their transmitters, Hatake and Shiranui entered the second sector.

Looking up from one of her patience, doctor Haruno blinked as the two suddenly entering officers exchanged whispers with the two guards by the entrance before moving over to her and nurse Hinata Hyuuga.

"What's going on?" she asked a bit concerned by their grim faces.

"Nothing to worry about." curling his eye in a small smile, Hatake gestured with his hand for them to follow, "Please, follow us."

Sharing worried looks, Hinata and Sakura follow Kakashi and Genma past the other curious inmates sitting in the waiting hall and exit the sickbay.

As soon as the girls were safe out in the yard and far away from the inmates, the officers explained the situation of the uprising in the gang population before leading them both out of the prison.

…

15:40

Finally sealing away the last of the exits, Mizuki turned around just in time to see Madara run into the hallway followed by a group of inmates…

…And as luck would have it, he quickly spotted Mizuki like a glitter in the dark and fixed a predatory stare at him.

"Well damn…if it isn't the polecat himself!" satisfyingly sang Madara as he changed his direction and slowly began approaching the frozen officer who tried to step back only to bump against the closed door. "Long time no see, ne, Mizuki?"

Trapped in a corner, Mizuki quickly grabbed his baton and held it in defense in front of himself. "Stay back!" he warned in fright.

Madara rolled his eyes while his goons snickered besides him, "Oh please…not that thing again. Didn't your parents ever teach you to listen, boy? I thought I told you not to point that stick at me." Looking to the side disinterested, a sudden glint quickly formed in Madara's eyes and he locked his eyes with Mizuki's again. "But then again…I guess I can finally show you _why_."

Before Mizuki could run away, one of Madara's thugs quickly caught him and pinned him down…

…

15:29

Stilling their breaths for some time now, Naruto and Shikamaru listened to the sounds of the havoc happening above before letting it pass and continuing with their work.

Pulling the narrow drill back into the small hole that he started drilling, Shikamaru looked at Naruto. "What if I actually _do_ hit that gas pipe?"  
He hoped to hear that what Naruto previously told him was a joke, and when Naruto's lips began twitching he was positive it actually was…until the blond spoke that is.

Not able to hold the brunet's inner worry, Naruto burst laughing and patted Shikamaru on the back, "Then I'm glad I got to know you, Shika."

Nara glared at him, "Thanks, Naruto-chan. That _really_ helped."

Waving his hand, Naruto leant against the wall, "Don't worry about it. I'm positive I marked all points in right places. …well…at least I think I did."

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru resumed drilling until suddenly the drill broke through the wall and he quickly held his breath. And since no explosion followed, he found it safe enough to lax his stiff shoulders with a heavy sigh.

Pulling the drill out, Naruto looked at the hole over Shikamaru's shoulder and smacked him on the back, "Alright! Good job. At least that didn't get us killed."

Nearly falling down, Shikamaru shook his head to clear out his nerve-racking state and rubbed his neck. "This is such a pain."

"Perhaps… But don't forget, there are four more holes left to drill."

Shikamaru groaned.

…

15:56

Outside the prison, officers gathered up as they geared up for the riot. Grabbing body armor, helmets and heavy firepower, they awaited for their orders to enter the block.

Stepping into the yard, warden Hiruzen Sarutobi walked over to Asuma and demanded the feedback of their situation.

"The first sectors is closed and evacuated. Second sector stays under the order. I think it's time we brought in the heavy artillery and get this mess fixed back in order."

Shaking his head, the warden said, "Probably won't be the best course of action, Asuma. With riot ending today, I don't think we'd like to start the funeral tomorrow. We have to try and appease them."

…

15:57

Dragging beaten and barely conscious Mizuki with him, Madara proudly returned back into the cell block. The other prisoners laughed and cheered at the display of an officer kneeling before them.

Pulling his hands up, Madara proclaimed in loud joyous voice, "Settle down men! Now I assure you, as soon as officer Mizuki and I are done having our _quality time_…" prolonging the pause long enough to let other inmates shout out their delight and approval, he finished, "…_Everyone_ else will have their turn!"

The prisoners applauded the idea and cheered on as Madara grabbed Mizuki and dragged him up the stairs, intended to get him into one of the cells for some 'fun'.

"We are going to have a lot of fun now, Mizuki. And don't you worry over a thing. It _ain't_ going to be over as soon as you hope!" dropping him down the stairway, Madara reached out to pull him back up, only to get a fist into his face.

With the last strength left in him, Mizuki jammed Madara into the cheek and quickly began hightailing away from him.

"Tch," brushing his cheek, Madara reared his head back and looked after the officer's pathetical attempt to get away. "Where are you going, Mizuki?" he called after him in a sickly playful manner before slowly following. "Don't you want to play with me? Come now, I can even teach you a thing or two about that stick of yours that you like so much."

Mizuki just kept on going and crawling, hoping in vain to get away from that dangerous man.

"No-no-no, Mizuki, don't you know that you can't escape me?"

Chancing to look behind him, Mizuki let out a painful yell as Madara's fist suddenly collided with his nose and he fell to the floor.

"Aww…I'm so sorry. I think I accidentally broke your nose." sitting on whimpering Mizuki's stomach, Madara grabbed him by the collar and pulled him at eye level, "Dam, it's bleeding pretty badly. Maybe I should fix it. Yes?"

Pulling back his fist, Madara was about to strike Mizuki again, but something else…much more interesting suddenly caught his eyes and he turned his head slowly to the left.

"My-my-my…what do we have here." he grinned, staring at a white sheet hanging over Nara's cell. Grabbing Mizuki by the hair, Madara pulled him up and whispered in his ear, "What you say if you and I have a little visit to our sinner over here?"

Before Mizuki could get what was said, Madara suddenly threw him inside Nara's cell before quickly entering after him.

Disappointed to find the cell empty, Madara huffed, "Hm…guess he ain't here then." Looking at the floor, Madara's smirk jumped back up as he stared at the struggling Mizuki on the floor, "Oh well…I guess we'll just have to have a little fun in here till he gets back!" chuckling in sadistic pleasure he kicked Mizuki in the backside with his foot.

Not able to catch himself from the sudden kick, Mizuki stumbled right towards the sink and reflexively grabbed it for support, but unluckily ended up actually knocking it out of its place.

Madara's eyes quickly went agape in amazed wonder as the sink suddenly fell out of its place to reveal a wide hole.

…

Inside the walls, Shikamaru stopped drilling and Naruto looked towards the catwalks with unsettled eyes as a loud slamming sound suddenly echoed throughout the inner chambers… The sound was too disturbing to be ignored.

Both exchanged anxious looks.

…

Shocked, Madara's eyes lost interest in beaten Mizuki gasping in the corner as he bent down to stare in dumbfound startle at the hole.

Losing part of his voice, Madara whispered out, "He's breaking out."

… … …

_

* * *

_

_A/N_

_Thank ya so much:_ narubby23, itachisgurl93, Felnore, brokenfromthepast, saya420, Savagehunger47, CHARbones, sousie, nuvola-cielo, dragonzice, cadywise, ReaperLuci & seto'swifey! :DD

_Replies:  
_CHARbones – not sure, Sasuke & Itachi are unlikely to meet here so fast, but maybe they will meet in future chapters;)) …& then we'll see how things go from thereXD

saya420 – I guess that's up to Shikamaru;)) If he wants Itachi to find out about their play, he'll tell; unless someone else babbles it out before himXD

itachisgurl93 – they probably willXD

narubby23 – maybeXD


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 12**_

* * *

Uchiha Madara has always been a man who could keep his posture to the best of concealment, however now he found himself unable to do so as he stared in transfixion at the proud display before his sight.

"He's breaking out," he exclaimed in shocked whisper, barely able to hide it all to himself.

Turning around, he opened his mouth to alert the rioting inmates of his discovery, "He's breakin-…!" but choked as a hand suddenly shot out of nowhere and grabbed him tightly around his throat, pushing him hard against the wall.

Hissing in pain, Madara cracked his eyes open and blinked as they met with furious shadowed-red.

"Shout out, and I'll break your neck." threatened Itachi.

Grabbing his wrist, Madara wheezed out. "…L-…let…g-go…Su-sa-noo…"

Glaring at the man, Itachi only tightened his hold further, for a second considering to actually kill the scum right on the spot, but a sudden movement by the hole quickly caught his attention, which gave Madara the needed distraction to quickly slipped out of Susanoo's hold and tend to his bruised neck.

Losing interest in the coughing Uchiha, Itachi kept his attention fixed on the revealing 'masterminds'…

Climbing back through the hole to his cell, Shikamaru's eyes widened in disbelieve as he paused at an unexpected sight before him.

'_This just _can't_ be happening.'_ Catching movements to his right, the brunet thought he was about to die.

It was bad enough that Itachi and Madara had obviously _somehow_ discovered their hole (forget about the riot itself that was spreading about), but once he saw an _officer_ covering by Naruto's bunk (not to miss the fact that that same officer, albeit badly beaten, was conscious enough to witness everything given), he knew that Naruto and he were totally screwed. "Fuck!" Running a hand through his messed up hair, he looked sharply at the two convicts in his cell. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Rubbing his neck, Madara smirked, "Why Nara… officer Mizuki and I have just been looking for you. And my, should I say that that's some 'nice' present you've made for us here. Yes, very-very _nice_!"

Looking over his shoulder, Itachi hissed, "This has nothing to do with you, Madara."

"And you think it does with you?" intervened Shikamaru, glaring daggers at Itachi who simply looked at him with a sly smirk.

"It does from now on."

Madara was amused. "Well if it isn't just lovely. The three most popular gang leaders getting it _on_. By the way, Nara…when were you planning on telling me about this little escape-thing of yours? Was it the reason why you're always this sleepy? Been digging these whole 3years?"

"What concern is it of yours?" Shikamaru glowered, barely able to hold his posture before it snapped.

Licking his lips, Madara glanced towards Itachi, who was staring daringly at Shikamaru. "Why I believe the very 'deepest'. After all, we're _all_ in on it now."

"What!"

Chuckling, Madara shrugged his shoulders, "Come now, be reasonable, Nara. You take me and Susanoo here in on this little getaway, and as a returned favor, _we_ keep our mouths shut about ever seeing anything. In the end, you _would_ like to make sure the cops don't find out about your little secret…about _our_ little secret…, wouldn't you?"

Unable to contradict, Shikamaru kept quiet, which only encouraged Madara's beat. "I think yes. Then again, speaking of cops…"

Mizuki's eyes widened as Madara and the other two cons looked down on him. Shaking his head in hopes to be spared, Mizuki winced as Madara grabbed his collar and pulled him up.

"I think this one's seen too much." Willing to show himself as a good self-elected teammate, Madara decided to assist his break-buddies by getting rid of their burden. Pulling out a dagger hidden in his pocket, Madara prepared to strike the officer in the gut, but gasped as something bright suddenly jumped from behind Shikamaru's back and kicked him hard into the face.

Falling to the ground, Madara growled in anger and snapped his fired eyes up, about to shout a wave of threats, but stopped and blinked as he was met with a towering blond, shielding Mizuki away.

Staring down at the man he was told so many things about, Naruto furrowed his brows. "No one touches the cop." he warned, "If what, he is our only insurance that we have against the guards now." Looking at Shikamaru, Naruto elaborated his reasons, "We need to finish our work. Keeping a hostage will give us time and the needed distraction to hold the officers away." Naruto didn't even bother mentioning the situation between Madara and Itachi, he already knew it was a lost game for him to even try anything against it; they'll just have to go with them.

Shikamaru knew what he was thinking and didn't like it. "You can't possibly think that we're taking those two with us." he silently hissed.

Naruto skipped a wary look towards Itachi, who was leaning against the wall and staring back at him with calculating eyes. "I don't think we'll have that much of a choice." he whispered dejectedly. He already got to know Itachi far enough to know that he was planning on going with them; the look in Susanoo's face told him that much as well; and saying 'no' to him now, might be a suicide. And he won't even begin mentioning Madara in it all.

Madara's head cocked to the side, through the whole dialogue between Nara and the blond, he was still staring at the same mentioned blond he'd never seen before. Carnality slowly crept inside Madara's being as a wicked grin arose. "Say…what do we have here?" pulling himself up, Madara's eyes drilled themselves into the blue-eyed creature. "A little golden nugget. How come I never seen ya before?"

Reaching out a hand to touch the 'golden spark' before him, Madara suddenly found himself pinned back against the wall with his dagger ripped out of his fingers and placed by his neck. Madara willed himself not to swallow as Itachi gripped his hair in a tight grip and whispered into his ear.

"Keep those hands sedated, Madara. Or else I don't hold myself responsible if anything happens to your riches." To make a point, he pressed the dagger at Madara's crotch. "Do you understand me?"

"A bit protective here I see." swallowing the held lump, Madara glared, "Let me go, Susanoo."

"Why?" Itachi sneered, "If I can simply kill you right here and make a little less leverage to carry."

Hissing, Madara snapped his teeth, "You think that just by killing me all your problems will go away? Hah! Go on then, Susanoo. Go on! Stick me! I dare ya, and let's just see how many times I can shout out about this little hole there before I bleed out! …" Madara's eyes gleamed with recognition as Itachi's teeth clenched together; he knew that Itachi knew that he was right. Even if he does strike him in the neck, Itachi knew him well enough to know that it won't be enough to silence his final intentions. "…_Every_ con in this place is gonna find out about this little secret of yours. Now would you like that?" turning his keen eyes towards Naruto, Madara smirked as the blond scowled at him. "So you see, beautiful, …whether I go with you all on this escape, or I make sure that none of us goes."

…

16:32

Back outside in the yard, plans against the riot were made.

"We'll try to force them into an encounter. Shut the water off inside the prison." Sarutobi ordered.

Nodding, Asuma began calling maintenance.

Beside him, Sakura and Hinata stared with worry as two military choppers circled around the building while reinforcements on the ground secured the perimeter. "I hope everything turns out well after all this."

Calming her friend and assistant down, Sakura smiled, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine." _'Which I can't say about the inmates' psychological state after all this ends.'_

…

16:34

Placing a hand on Itachi's shoulder, Naruto willed him to let the grinning Madara go, which the man did, although with a final push that knocked Madara's head against the wall so hard that a small trickle of blood was left staining it.

"FUCK!" sliding to the ground after being let go, Madara placed a hand at his nape and glared up at Itachi as his fingers felt wet surface under his hair.

Ignoring him, Itachi turned towards Naruto. "This has gone too deep, little fish. Uchiha is not to be trusted. He's going to drive this escape into a pit. We're not taking him."

Naruto huffed, "Who are you to tell who goes and who doesn't? You yourself are in just as likely situation as he is. You weren't supposed to find this out!" he hissed in Itachi's face.

Itachi formed a smug smirk, "Perhaps. But I still did. And whether you agree to it or you don't, I'm still going with you."

"Tch," crossing his arms, Naruto cocked his hip, "Let me guess. You're going to use blackmail on me just like him?" he asked, nodding towards hissing Madara tending to his head.

"No… I have a little bit of a different approach." Dropping his eyes down, Itachi hooked a finger around the black string handing around Naruto's neck and tugged on it with a pointed reminder, "Besides, I believe you're forgetting our little deal, little fish. You still owe me."

Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered what Itachi told him after returning his necklace back. "I never agreed to it from the starters." he spat.

"Then I guess you'll have to now." casually said Itachi, "Or do you want me to move onto more drastic ways of persuasion?"

Itachi left Naruto tongue-tied.

'_And how the hell is _that_ any different from blackmail?' _Shikamaru thought to himself as he groaned from his spot, "Man…This is such a pain."

Naruto could not agree more. "I need some air," stepping away from Itachi, he pushed the covering sheet aside and stepped out. Wanting to collect his thoughts, all Naruto got was a deeper headache as his eyes took in the mentioned 'air'.

Joyous mob of assassins were making a chaotic mess out of the cell block. Toilet papers, feathers, bed-sheets and even pants were flying everywhere around and about; some even found it fun to lighten them all up with fire, thus creating small fireworks and stifling smoke that did nothing to help the already heat filled area. _'God, what have I done…. This was not supposed to turn out this way.'_

"Yo! Naruto!"

Looking down, he waved a hand at the chest-naked Suigetsu and Kiba calling at him from downstairs. "What are ya still doing up there? Get your sweet ass and Shikamaru down here now! We're going wild!"

"Yes! It's Time To Let Loose Our Strings For Men-Bonding!" screamed Lee from somewhere across his tier, while waving his pants around.

Naruto felt freaked out and he was about to shout his rejection to the…whatever the hell this 'men-bonding' meant, when a sudden hand landed on his shoulder and he looked back at Suigetsu, who somehow managed to make it upstairs in record time. "Man, you're tense. Come now, lighten up Blondie! Let's have some fun! Where's that lazy-ass by the way?"

Naruto's eyes widened as Suigetsu turned towards their cell. If he found out about that what and most of all _who's_ inside there, it would drop death on him and his whole escaping plan (further than it was already).

"Shikamaru's Busy! He's Jerking Off!" he suddenly yelled out, startling the watery-haired man and a few passing inmates who burst laughing.

"I'm doing WHAT!" yelling from his cell, Shikamaru quickly stepped out, making sure to jerk the sheet close behind himself to cover the inner view.

"Oh…err…you done already?" grinning sheepishly at the fuming brunet, Naruto rubbed his neck.

Restraining himself from kicking guffawing Suigetsu, Nara's scowl soon turned into a perverse smirk and he grabbed Naruto around the waist, "No, I'm not done. Not yet at least." pulling the protesting boy after him, Shikamaru grinned at Suigetsu with a pointed look. "We're busy. Why don't you come back later?"

"Now Wait A Minute! That's totally not what he mea-…!" clapping Naruto's mouth shut, Shikamaru dragged him back into their cell and behind the sheet, leaving laughing Suigetsu behind.

'_Damn that Nara. He's so lucky.'_ "Hey! Kiba! Catch me!" gripping the railings, Suigetsu jumped over them and onto a yelling Kiba below.

…

Once back in their cell, Shikamaru let Naruto go and looked around the room with a heavy sigh, "We have to get this mess straight in order before anyone else runs in and finds out."

"I agree. So let's start this by killing the witness! I call dibs!" lusting for blood and grinning with delight, Madara cracked his knuckles as he peered down at covering and whimpering Mizuki.

"We're not killing him." admonished Naruto.

Madara's lips twitched and he looked at the blond disagreeably. "I don't think you fully understand the situation here, Blondie. He has _seen_ the hole."

"And? So have you." boldly challenged Naruto, glaring at him with a threatening glint.

The Uchiha felt more than slightly riled up, the blond was opposing him, very few dared to actually do it (especially among rookies).

But even though a 'rooky', that boy was obviously the mastermind behind the escape; so much could be told by his cocky charade, which was annoying Madara just as much as it was giving him thrills and a pleasant feeling of a growing _arousal_.

"P-please…"

Four pairs of eyes suddenly drop down on the shaking officer, who finally spoke up.

"Please don't…I have a family…" Mizuki pleaded with them to spare his life.

Madara rolled his eyes at the pathetic man and stepped in Naruto's space, "We have to kill him, sunshine. There's no other way."

Naruto's eyes gazed unfazed into deep blacks of the taller man. "The guards are right outside the prison." he specified, "And they'll stay outside as long as they know we're keeping _him_ alive."

Hearing the reason, Madara smirked in relaxed state, "Aa…so then it's only temporary huh? Ok, I can deal with it. But after that, we're killing him!"

"NO! …Pl-please! I-I won't tell anyone! Promise!" quickly interjected Mizuki, lowering his gaze when Madara's fury eyes lowered down on him with a hiss to 'shut up'.

"I'm not going to tell you this again." warned the blond, his decision firm, "We're _not_ killing him; nor now nor after! Don't touch him, Madara! Or you're out of this game."

Madara's eyes widened at the threat and he looked back at the young blond struck.

Giving him a cold shoulder, Naruto turned Madara his back and faced Itachi. "Shikamaru and I are going back inside the walls to finish what we started. Can you make sure he doesn't touch the cop?"

Itachi was a bit surprised at the blond's willingness to put him into their escaping play; then again didn't he just use blackmail on the poor boy to do just that? "You're taking this matter rather well, little fish. Usually it takes me more to convince you into something."

Naruto scowled at him. _''Well' you say? …I'd say hardly.'_ "This matter isn't something that we can fool around with. And I assure you, I'm not pleased to have you in this escape either."

Susanoo chuckled, "I didn't even think otherwise. But I can't say that this isn't a surprise."

"Che. I got to know you well enough to know what to expect. And reasoning with you would be just useless for me; a 'no' option from me is a 'no' answer from you."

"I feel touched. You seem to know me well." Smirking at the blond who rolled his eyes, Itachi finally nodded. "Alright. I'll watch after him." he answered, agreeing to keep an eye on Madara, who was still staring at the blond in disbelieve.

Nodding, Naruto pulled Shikamaru after himself and into the hole.

Following the blond with his gaze until he disappeared, Madara finally lost it. "Did you see what he did?" he suddenly yelled out.

This time it was Itachi who rolled his eyes, "I don't care."

Ignoring his mumble, Madara snapped, "He threatened me! HE! A _rooky_! Threatened ME! The _Uchiha_! Of all people!"

"Keep it down, 'Uchiha', before _I_ snap and slice your neck!" Pulling the sheets slightly to the side, Itachi looked around to make sure none was keeping their eyes on the cell.

Glaring at him, Madara huffed and looked down at Mizuki. "What are _you_ staring at, peacock?"

Mizuki quickly lowered his gaze, wincing as Madara kicked the sink in anger.

…

17:18

Walking back through the chambers and averting Shikamaru's eyes most of the time, Naruto finally sighed and asked, "What? What do you want me to say?"

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Maybe… I… Urgh! I don't even know anymore!"

"So it would seem. Smooth, Naruto, just smooth."

"Geez…Will you shut up! I get it already!"

"Do you _really_?"

"You just… AAargh! Well what the hell do you think I was supposed to do, huh? Let Susanoo and that psycho-cross-pedophile blow this whole plan up? Would that make things better for you, Nara?"

"No…of course not, I…, look, I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault, but… Damn it! I can stand Susanoo tagging along, but _Madara_, to have _him_ in the team? My God, this is just _not_ happening."

"Forget this. We'll have to decide what to do with him later. Right now, let's just finish this wall already."

…

17:17

Cuffed by both wrists to metal frame of Naruto's bunk, Mizuki watched with glazed eyes as Madara sat across from him and went through his wallet, pulling out cash, credit cards and anything else he found there just to tear it all apart. "This is so boring…, you don't even have one photo in here. One would think that a family man such as yourself would have enough decency to place his loving wife's picture in his wallet." Pulling out a silver white card that got his attention, Madara arched a brow as he read the logo of a '_Moonlit_' strip-club on it. "Well-well…what do we have here?" flipping the card over, Madara read, "'Calm me'." chuckling he flicked the card between his fingers, "My-my Mizuki, seems that your loving husband status is falling miserably low. Are ya really married? Or is it that your wife does not meet your standards? Or maybe by saying _family_, did you mean this bitch right here? What's her name? 999-007FUCKME018?" bursting into cruel chuckles, Madara threw the card away, "You're such a _family man_."

Entering back into the cell, Itachi looked down at Madara with annoyance, "Will you give it a rest already?"

"Come on man, I'm not even touching him! The _man of law_ and I are just talking here. Nothing better than a male-to-male close bonding. Ne, Mizuki?"

Paying no more mind to the babbling Madara in the background or already nerved-wrecked Mizuki, who was looking at him with desperate eyes, Itachi's interest drifted towards the hole that could be seen through one side of the sink.

To witness the sight of a first step to freedom was too thrilling to miss.

…

17:28

Moving on to the fourth carved point, Shikamaru placed the eggbeater over it and began drilling. Skipping a look at his silent cellmate, he tried to approach, "Once outside, where do you plan on going?"

Naruto smiled at the thought of outside and shrugged, "Most likely back to my father."

"How did he take your arrest?" he asked, arching a brow when the blond gave a small snigger.

"Believe me, not too well. But I don't care; all that matters is that he ain't disappointed in me."

"For being a criminal?"

"Aa…I guess you could say that."

Nara was dumbfounded, _'What kind of a parent would find pride in their child for becoming a criminal? What is he? A mobster?'_ deciding not to pry, Shikamaru shook his head.

"What about your father? How did he take your arrest?" Noting the way Shikamaru stiffed and halt in drilling, Naruto bit his lip, thinking he hit a touching subject, though an answer he did receive,

"He would probably be pissed. Though I won't be able to tell precisely. My father died on duty about ten years ago. As for my mother, she abandoned me right after."

"Sorry," feeling bad for even asking, Naruto lowered his head.

"Don't be. If it hadn't happened the way it did, I would have never met all those idiots like Neji or Suigetsu…or you."

Naruto growled at him halfheartedly, "I don't know whether to be flattered or enraged. And to think I even felt sorry for your ass. Are you calling me an 'idiot'?"

"No, I'm calling you one _sexy_ idiot." Chuckling at him, Nara groaning as Naruto smacked him upside the head. "By the way. Once we'll get out, what do you plan on calling yourself as? Surely it'll require a change in your real name and status."

This time it was Naruto who chuckled, "Basically, the family-name which you know me by is not my real one."

Once more Shikamaru was left stunned, "It isn't?"

"No, it isn't."

Waiting for him to tell his real one, Nara frowned when the blond simply smiled at him. "Troublesome boy."

"Oi. Don't pout. You still know me by my first name. And 'Naruto' is such a _widely spread_ name too." Shikamaru quickly noted the sarcasm; the name Naruto was indeed rare. "But still, just to be sure, I guess that once outside, I'm going to adapt a new name anyways."

"Like…?" urged the brunet.

Naruto heaved his shoulders, "John Smith."

Shikamaru blinked, stopped drilling and looked at the blond with a funny face. "…John Smith?"

"Why not? The name's quite popular around the western side of population, and it'll be much easier to hide with such an alibi. Just think how many Smiths are in the world."

'_Too many.'_ Shaking his head, Shikamaru pushed the drill back and smirked as it finally pierced through the hole. _'One more left.'_

…

17:33

Turning the tap of his sink from one side to another for countless times, a long, blond haired man grit his teeth angrily as it still refused to work, "What a…un! It's _Broken_!"

"Will you quit yapping already! What a hell's the problem anyway?" growled an annoyed short redheaded male lying on the top bunk.

"We have no freaking water is _what's the problem_!" roared the sweaty blond.

Frowning, the redhead looked up from the magazine he was reading, "And that's it? That's what's getting your ass in a twist? Oh sure…what a _maaajor_ problem."

Rolling his eyes at the sarcastic remark, the blond ran a hand through his hair as he thought, "You know what? I think they might have turned the water off."

"Mhmm…whatever." mumbled the other, completely uninterested to the blond's concerns as he flipped the next page of his reading.

"OI! Are you even _listening_ to me! I said-…!"

"Shut up!" throwing a pillow at the annoying inmate, the redhead growled, "I don't care what you said! Leave me alone! You're annoying me!"

"Argh! Sasori, you Fucker! Show some concern once and a while why don't you? Geez, why am I even bothered by you, hm? You wouldn't even care if the whole world got deprived of water. You don't even drink the bloody damn thing! What are ya made of anyways? Sand?" Storming out of his cell, the blond man looked up at Itachi's cell where Kisame's blue hair could be seen lying on the top bunk. "Oi! Kisame! Got Any Water In Yer Cell?" he yelled over the ruckus of other inmates.

Groaning, Kisame yelled back hoarsely, "I Don't Know! I Don't Care!"

"What do you mean you don't care? You're like a freaking jellyfish that can't live a second without water." Stomping pass the other bustling inmates, the long haired blond walked up the stairs and into Susanoo's cell, where he quickly started tapping the sink. "Shit. They actually did turn it off."

"What are you talking about?" grumbled Kisame sleepily as he rolled off his bed.

"What do you think I'm talking about, hm. Wake the hell up! The fucking water is shut off in the whole prison!"

Passing the cell just in time, Hidan nearly tripped as he heard that, "What! Do they want us to die here?"

"Well definitely not have a freaking bathhouse." sarcastically retorted Deidara and plopped down in Itachi's bunk. "Hey, where's Susanoo by the way?"

Yawning, Kisame shrugged and nodded to the side. "Last time I've seen him, he was heading towards Nara's cell."

"Nara, huh? His cell is the tenth one to the right, yes?"

"Hm."

Nodding, the blond jumped up and headed straight for it.

"Now where the fuck are you going?" asked Hidan.

"To find Itachi and get him to talk to the guards. Hopefully to fix this mess up before we choke, hm."

…

17:30

As National Guard soldiers coordinated behind them, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Asuma headed to the command center. With the water shut off, their expectations were to place the cons under an unbearable heat far enough to force them to stand down; which was taking longer than they had hoped.

"We'll give them half an hour." instructed the warden, "If they're not out by then, take the first-sector back by force."

Asuma nodded his consent and left the warden's side.

…

17:36

Blinking up at the white sheet covering the entire cell, the blond man scratched his cheek and suppressed a smirk. Everyone knew that when a white sheet was hung out, someone inside was having a _full mouth_. "Yo, Susanoo! Never took you for a guy who-…" Gripping the sheet he jerked them to the side and gasped as he was quickly gripped by his shirt and forced into the cell and against the wall.

"What are you doing here, Deidara?" hissed the dark-haired assassin.

The blond blinked in stupor, "M-Madara? Wh-what the hell are you doing in Nara's cell?"

Smirking, Madara shot a nasty grin at cuffed up Mizuki, "Having fun."

"Holy Shit! It's a cop!" finally spotting the black-clad guard in the cell, Deidara's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "What the fuck is _he_ doing here?"

"Make up your mind, boy, what do you want to know? What _I_'m doing here or what _he_ is?"

"Tch, never mind that now." Slapping Madara's hand away, Deidara looked around, "Where's Itachi?"

"Who? Susanoo? Not here, as ya can see."

"Hm. Well have you seen him?"

Shrugging, Madara slowly traveled his eyes over the blond's lean figure. "Last time I've seen him, he was searching for that suicide Hidan."

"Really…" Running a hand through his hair, Deidara looked at the man from the corner of his eye, there was something not quite right with this picture.

Madara was in Nara's cell, with no Nara or Uzumaki in it; he had a cuffed up Mizuki by the bed, who looked too calm for a hostage to a freaking Uchiha; and frankly, Madara himself did not look too keen on doing anything to the officer, seeing the way he kept skipping quick glances towards the sink every now and then, which itself was weird altogether.

"Is something wrong, Uchiha?" he asked curiously.

Madara blinked and looked back at the blond. "Whatever do you mean? Why…is that _worry_ I see there, Deidara-chan? Well if you want, I can _show_ you that I'm perfectly fine…" Taking a menacing step towards the blond with a perverse glint in his eyes, Madara smirked as Deidara flipped him off and exited the cell.

"I guess that's a 'no'."

Though before the blond left, Madara called after him, "Deidara. If you're going to try and negotiate with the guards, for a better profit, do mention them about our little pigeon here." he said, nodding towards Mizuki.

"'Heh!'" scrunching his nose up, Deidara disappeared behind the cover.

"My…how arrogant everyone's become," chuckling to himself, Madara looked at the sink covering the hole.

…

Gritting his teeth, Deidara walked back to where he left Kisame and Hidan and leant against the bars with a confused scowl merging his features.

"Did ya find him?" asked Hidan, lying comfortably on the cool floor.

"'Hmph!' No." turning to face the bars, Deidara hung his hands against them and stared at Nara's cell, _'…But I did find someone else.'_ Looking down below the tier, his eyes narrowed as he spotted Orochimaru discussing something with his men before heading away.

…

17:34

Picking up a large metal pipe from the pile of other discarded and broken pipes, Naruto evaluated its weight to the necessary standards and swung it.

"What you got there?"

Startled by the sudden voice right behind him, Naruto quickly turned around, ready to slam the metal pipe into someone's face, but stopped when a hand caught it midway.

"Itachi?"

"Easy there little fish. Won't want this to get frisky now would we." smirking at the shocked blond, Itachi lowered the pipe down.

"What are you doing here? You were supposed to keep Madara in check."

"Don't worry about Madara, I made sure he's tranquil. As for me, I guess I couldn't suppress my curiosity from exploring."

"Hmph… you and everyone else combined." Pulling the pipe back to his side, Naruto looked it over once more and shook his head, "This won't do."

Curious, Itachi asked, "For what?"

"I need to find a pipe that is solid enough to break a six-inch thick concrete. But all these discarded pipes here are all rusted and broken, they won't withstand against the force."

Looking up, Itachi eyed the newly installed thick water and air-vent pipes running along the walls and reached out for one of them. Grabbing it with his bare hands, he suddenly tore it out of its sockets with no complications, before handing it over to the gaping blond.

Closing his mouth, Naruto took the pipe in hand and nearly dropped it down from its weight. _'Damn, is he a Titan?'_

"Will this do?" arrogantly asked the tall longhaired raven.

Scowling at him, Naruto heaved the heavy pipe onto his shoulder and mumbled, "We'll see, showoff." Beckoning him to follow, Naruto led him through the catwalks and back to where Shikamaru was.

…

17:43

With one final push, Shikamaru broke through the final hole. _'Finally…'_ brushing sweat from his forehead he looked pass his shoulder as light footsteps came from behind him. Arching a brow at the presence of Itachi, Shikamaru looked at Naruto but did not ask anything about the matter. "Great timing. I'm done here."

Looking away from the small drilled points merging the wall, Itachi frowned at an odd looking eggbeater in Nara's dusty hands and quickly placed the two and two together. _'Is this a joke?'_

"Good. Then let's tear it down." stepping before the wall, Naruto gripped the metal pipe in his hands.

Shikamaru quickly interjected, "Hold on! You're stitches!"

"Screw the stitches!" swinging the pipe back, Naruto slammed it hard against the center of the drilled wall.

Stepping back, Itachi and Shikamaru watched as the surface of the wall cracked by each mighty swing of the pipe. Soon the concrete began breaking away.

…

17:47

Outside the prison…

Just as Asuma readied the armed guards for the encounter, a sudden shout from the prison caught everyone's attention.

The shouter, standing sideways from a slotted window of the cell block, was one of Orochimaru's men, Kimimaro.

"We have some demands!" he yelled.

…

Leaning by his side against the wall, Orochimaru dictated him their demands. "Tell them we need the A/C and H2O."

Kimimaro obediently repeated his leader's orders to the guards.

"And tell them we have a hostage as well." Looking to the side, Orochimaru arched a brow as Deidara suddenly came into view.

"Who?" he asked.

"Officer Mizuki."

Exchanged looks with Kimimaro, Orochimaru nodded for him to continue.

"We have a hostage! Mizuki!"

…

The warden's posture quickly changed and he looked at Asuma. "Mizuki?"

Having communicated with the other officers, Asuma quickly received the confirmation that Mizuki was indeed still inside the prison.

The warden was oppressed. "Ready the National Guard unit."

"Are we to invade?"

"No. We'll gas the block."

…

17:44

With one final swing, Naruto broke the wall. The concrete fractured and crumbles crashed by his feet as a huge round hole of a drainage pipe revealed itself before their eyes.

Bending down, the three inmates peered into the hole in the wall and laughed with delight. The first stage of the plan was completed.

…

17:54

Lining up before the gates, guards awaited the command to go in.

"Last warning," they announced, warning the inmates barricading before the gates to back down.

Once the final warning sounded, the gates opened up and three cans of teargas were fired into the hall, sending the inmates scattering. Right after, armed guards stormed into the sector.

…

17:55

Back inside the cell, Naruto placed the sink into its original place and looked up at his formed little group (Shikamaru, Itachi and Madara). _'"Thrilling" team.'_ he thought ironically.

A loud signal suddenly rang through the whole prison, signalizing only one thing – the guards have entered the block.

'_I guess telling about Mizuki turned out to be a rather bad approach.'_ idly thought Madara.

"Alright. That's it for now. Let's get everyone out of here before the guards show up. Especially you," kneeling before Mizuki, Naruto grabbed the keys for the handcuffs and unlocked them from around the bedpost.

Jumping towards the arising opportunity, Madara voluntarily sang, "Don't bother your pretty little hands, I'll take care of him."

Naruto quickly got in Madara's way, "You're not going to kill him."

Shikamaru arched a brow at his cellmate but kept his thoughts to himself, _'Why would you even bother if he's dead or not, Naruto?'_

Turning his head to the side, Madara seriously started impugning the boy's mentality, "At first I thought you were joking when you told me this, but now I see you really do have a malfunction in that head of yours. It's over, Blondie! The riots over, and we don't need him anymore!"

"I said, you're _not_ going to kill him."

Frowning, Madara crossed his arms. "Oh? So what then pray-tell are you going to do with him? Keep as a souvenir?"

"No. I'm simply going to let him go." replied Naruto and dragged Mizuki up by his elbow.

Shikamaru's eyes widened while Itachi's narrowed; both were wondering what the hell the blond was thinking by letting the cop go, especially after everything he's seen. For once in their lives they felt like siding Madara on the killing part.

"What!" snapping his teeth, Madara agape as Naruto led Mizuki out of the cell. "Now wait here, pretty boy!" running after him, Madara grabbed Naruto's wrist and turned him around. "Do you even _understand_ what you're about to do? He's a fucking cop! He's gonna squeal!"

Ripping his hand free, Naruto glared at the man, "Don't question me, Uchiha. If you plan on staying in this escape, then you'll do what _I_ say!"

Madara's eyes widened for the second time. _'Is he ordering me around now! A Superior! Damn Brat! I'm Gonna Fuck His Brains Out For This!'_

Unlocking the cuffs completely from Mizuki's wrist, Naruto cleared things out, "You are to mention none of this what you've seen. If you spill out even the smallest drop about the escape, my people will make sure to bury you alive. And don't try to fool yourself by thinking that you'll get away before I'll be able to tell on you, 'cause believe me, they already know how and where to find you."

Message clear and Mizuki scared enough to keep his mouth shut, Naruto nodded for him to go; and he did, with a trembling slowness of his numb feet.

Turing back to his cell, Naruto was met with glaring black eyes of one pissed Uchiha. "That was very foolish, little blond. Very foolish." Without another word, Madara turned away and left, heading to the opposite direction from Mizuki.

Feeling that the man was sedated enough, Naruto sighed in tiredness and stepped back in his cell, not noticing the way Madara skipped a backward glance at him before quickly entering one of the nearby cells.

Nodding then at Itachi who dropped a hand on his shoulder as a sign that said 'everything's alright', Naruto watched as he left and turned to Shikamaru, who was just about to open his mouth to say something but quickly snapped it close and looked pass Naruto's shoulder with alarm.

Worried, Naruto looked towards his line of sight and frowned as he caught a glimpse of black hair.

Having hid himself in a nearby cell, Madara waited until Itachi passed it by before deeming it safe to proceed with his vicious purpose.

Pulling out a second dagger hidden in his sock, Madara exited the cell and set his eyes on still shocked-stressed Mizuki, who was slowly heading towards the stairs, not bothered by jostling inmates who fought through the narrow pathway to get back in their cells.

Reaching Mizuki in quick strides, Madara grabbed him by the shoulder and spoon him around. "Just so we're clear. I'm not taking any chances," clenching Mizuki by the throat, Madara gripped his blade and suddenly stabbed it into the officer's stomach multiple times.

Walking out of his cell and witnessing the act, all Naruto managed to do was shout out a 'No' before Madara pulled his dagger out of gaping Mizuki's body and flipped him over the railings, where he crushed down into the hard concrete floor of the cell block, right in front of Orochimaru's feet.

Frowning, Orochimaru curiously peered up and scowled as he saw a heavily breathing Madara with a bleeding dagger in his hand. _'Uchiha Madara. You're in deep shit now.'_

Satisfied with his accomplishment, Madara looked at stunned Naruto and pleased walked over to him. "For the sake of our team, beautiful." He whispered in Naruto's ear before going pass him and towards his cell, leaving the boy to tend to himself.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thanks ta:_ EvilPopcorn, dragonzice, Felnore, itachisgurl93, runes01, saya420, Savagehunger47, narubby23, Tachi Kagahara, NoNameNeeded, seto'swifey, cadywise, CHARbones & Narutopokefan! XDD

_Replies:  
_EvilPopcorn – no, sorry, but Madara & Sasuke don't know each other here;))

Felnore – well…, no biting nails just yetXD

NoNameNeeded – no, Madara & Sasuke aren't related here;))


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 13**_

* * *

10:51

Things have gradually calmed down in the prison of Konoha on the next day; with riot ending and system of the prison amending, both in technical and systematic way, the inmates had been appeased, and the condition stilled to a normal rate.

Though as calm as everything seemed to go, none of it was close to it for Naruto.

Sitting on the floor in his cell room, Naruto held his head in his hands as he supported his elbows on his knees. He felt devastated. Not only was it because he had to figure out how to escape through his cell with two extra inmates (who were in completely different cells) without risking being noticed, but on top of that, he now had a bunch of approaching officers to deal with.

After the riot and the death of Mizuki, the officers had went wild on the prisoners; right now, they were searching every cell for the leads of who killed Mizuki… and soon, they will come to his cell. Not that they will find any leads on the murder, but they will find something else…something that they are not supposed to see.

Leaning his wrists against the bars, Shikamaru stared below their tier as officers went from cell to cell, tearing out beds and walls just to find evidence that could lead to Mizuki's murderer.

"It's only a matter of time before they come towards our cell and start looking around. And by doing so, I have no doubt that they'll find the hole as well." remarked Shikamaru.

Pulling his lips in a thin line, Naruto kept his thoughts to himself.

"I guess I can finally understand why you didn't let Madara kill Mizuki. You knew it would've happened like this, right?" he wondered, looking down on Naruto.

"That was but one argument." said Naruto, staring blankly at the floor, "The real reason to '_why_' was because with Mizuki the safety of our escape could've been more profound." at Shikamaru's confused silence, Naruto elaborated, "You see. If he hadn't have killed Mizuki, Madara would have been the only problem we would have to deal with, but since it has come to this, we now have not only Madara, but the whole prison guard union on our hands.

By killing Mizuki, Madara has already sealed his fate…sort of. Which from one point could turn out good, because if cops find out it was him who killed their friend – he'd be out of the picture in no time; but from the other, which is most _troublesome_ – so that you would understand –," huffing at the teasing remark, Shikamaru listened on, "…if he gets caught, I have no doubt that he's going to sing about the hole. And our escape will be blown into the next part of our lives which will be spent in an isolator."

"Great," sardonically grumbled Shikamaru, "Does this mean we're supposed to safe his ass now?"

"To put it briefly – yes; because we're screwed if we don't."

"Fuck this!" frustrated, Nara kicked the bars.

"Even if so. We can make sure he doesn't sing even if he was forced to," suddenly said a voice from the entrance.

Turning his head to the side, Naruto looked up at the appearance of Susanoo. "What you suggest? That we simply kill him?"

Shrugging, Itachi stepped into the cell and leant against the wall besides Naruto. Pocketing his hands, he exchanged familiar glances with Shikamaru, "I think it's worth considering."

Looking towards Shikamaru, Naruto understood by his eyes that he was with Itachi on that thought; though if only it was the issue worth considering…

Sighing, Naruto shook his head, "I doubt that we have time for considerations. Besides, Madara is not our main problem now," he marked out, nodding towards the side where officers could be heard searching the cells. "Even if we do kill him now…that still won't save us from the guards." Biting on his tongue, Naruto pondered their options. "We have no other choice. Either we find a pigeon who'll take the blame…or we sit tight until the guards bust this room."

…

10:58

Staring at the blooded dagger in his hands, Madara narrowed his eyes as the officers came one cell closer to his own. With the search party spreading around the cells and water system still shut off, he could not wash off the bare evidence lying in his hands. Cleaning off his fingerprints from the blade was an easy task, but he could not get rid of the blood without staining it into the pearl white sheets or his clothes without making it noticeable. He had to get rid of the thing, and fast. And for that he needed a fake perpetrator. _'But whom to sell down the river?'_

Looking up, Madara suddenly stretched out a wide smirk as his eyes landed on the strolling Suigetsu.

…

Gliding easily pass the other inmates, Madara walked up the stairs and subtly entered the Hozuki's vacant cell. Unfolding his bible encased in a pillowslip, Madara opened the middle of the book and looked down at the snuggled dagger in between the holy pages now colored in red. _'Forgive me, Jesus, for besmearing your book.'_ Pulling Suigetsu's sheets up, he slipped his bible under them but quickly curled his hand back when a voice suddenly interrupted,

"Don't even think about it."

Arching a brow, Madara turned around to see Orochimaru leaning against the entrance and by every visible aspect of his features the _snake_ did not look pleased.

The assassin felt just as amused as he felt irritated. "Why?" he sneered, "Why would you even care, Orochimaru? Suigetsu is no longer in your gang. He abandoned you. Personally, I think I'm doing quite a welcoming favor for you here, by punishing one of your hobos."

A small smirk merged the yellow-eyed man. "'Abandon' you say? Hm. You think you know so much Madara…alas, you still have so _very_ much to find out." stepping into the cell, Orochimaru glimpsed over his shoulder to make sure none was close by before turning back to the other man. "If you want me to keep silent about your little secret, you'll do well to leave this cell, now."

Licking his lips, Madara tried to calm his nerves as his grip tightened on the bible he failed to replace with Suigetsu's. He knew it never ended well when messing with the warden's little _snake_. No matter from which point they attacked, no matter how much of a bloodshed they both created, it always resulted in the same old outcomes: his wins were his losses, …for no matter how many battles he won against the sly _snake_, who just never _died_, in the end, he was always the one to go down by warden's hand.

Taking in a steady breath, he nodded his head with a small curl up his lips, "Alright. I'll leave your little ex-_pet_ alone…; however, don't expect me to grant you mercy when the time comes and I kill you."

Lifting a fine brow at the heated threat, Orochimaru only grinned, "You think you can still kill me, Uchiha? Hmhm…I thought our previous fights had finally taught you a thing or two about me, but I guess I am yet again left with a disappointment. You still seem to forget that no matter how much I fall by your hand, I always manage to rise back up." Outstretching then his hand to the side, he gestured the glaring Madara out. "Now, if you please…"

Placing the bible back under the fabric, Madara scowled and shouldered pass the man as he went out.

…

Nipping on his thumb, Suigetsu stared with furrowed brows at his cell from across Lee's room that he was currently in. Hidden under the shadows, he thought over what he was seeing, which was unequivocally one person – Madara. He knew very well what Madara was trying to do. He saw it all with his own eyes before Orochimaru's entrance. _'The fucker wants me to take the fall for him.'_

"What are you thinking?" asked Neji, disturbing Suigetsu from his running mind and joining him by where he was leaning against his cell.

"Huh? Oh…nothing special," waiving the problem off, the watery-haired man forced his thoughts away from his anxiety and gave his companion a fanged smirk. "Just been wondering how you and Rock would look like in one bed."

Giving him a dirty look along with a slap upside the head, Neji huffed and leaned over the railings, looking downstairs. "You're an idiot, Suigetsu."

Chuckling, Suigetsu rubbed his poor head. "Yeah, I hear that a lot."

"Hn. And if we're serious? What's bothering you?" apparently the fake cheerfulness of the other man did not meet Neji's ignorance.

Sighing, Suigetsu shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It's just headache." Looking back towards his cell, Suigetsu felt the hair on his back stand on ends as Madara stormed out of his cell followed by Orochimaru. Waiting till the two left, he lingered long enough before finally losing his patience and heading for his cell; he needed to find out if they left something in there. "Sorry, Neji. I gotta go and check something out."

Arching a brow at him, Neji was about to ask 'what' but the other was already gone. _'Headache you say huh?'_ frowning after him, Neji's eyes skipped towards where he could see Madara going downstairs. _'If only it was the case…'_

…

11:13

Making sure that his cell was left clean and literally unmarked by blood, Suigetsu ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh; he was confused as to why nothing was left. Was it Orochimaru's doing? _'Oh, the hell with this! I'm talking to Shikamaru.'_

Not willing to deal with his worry alone, he stomped out of his cell and entered Nara's cell with a shout that died as soon as he saw a well known raven-haired man whose eyes momentarily snapped towards him, making him feel small. _'Wha-? What a hell is _he_ doing here?'_ he wondered, knowing that usually Shikamaru and Susanoo talked only then when there were some deep issues concerning them both or the gang, but as far as he remembered nothing was there to be concerned off. _'So then why is he here? Is it because of Naruto?'_ looking down at the weary-looking Naruto staring at the floor, Suigetsu rubbed his neck, feeling rather uncomfortable, _'Maybe it is…'_ "Aaa…is this a bad timing?"

Shaking his head, Shikamaru waved him in. "No. What is it?"

Forgetting about Susanoo and the darkly looming mood that was present in the room, Suigetsu quickly growled out his complaints, "Madara tried to set me up."

Itachi's eyes darkened while Naruto's quickly perked up. "Madara?"

"Aa…he planned on leaving his blooded dagger in my cell for the guards to find out. Though Orochimaru intervened and I guess didn't allow it."

"Tch… of course he's not going to allow it, idiot," grumbled Shikamaru, "You're his nephew after all."

Hearing that, Naruto couldn't stop his eyes from widening. _'Nephew?'_

Scratching his cheek, Suigetsu mumbled in agreement, "Mmm…maybe you're right."

Seething in hatred, Shikamaru was not glad to find out that Madara was trying to setup one of his men, "Fucking Uchiha. I'm gonna slaughter him."

Slightly amused by his leader's protectiveness, Suigetsu smirked, "Slaughter? Honestly, man, now where's the fun in that? Let's just bust his ass to the cops. Everyone knows it was him who killed Mizuki anyways." he suggested, suddenly feeling even greater confusion fell down on him when the atmosphere dropped even more, and all three inmate looked up at him in alarm. "What? What the fuck did I say?"

Catching Shikamaru's glaze, Naruto shook his head; they couldn't rat on Madara, because if they do then he will tell on them. And having a babbling Suigetsu on their track to boost was even worse.

Knowing that very well, Shikamaru looked at blinking Suigetsu, "We can't do that."

…

11:06

Standing outside their cell while the guards went through their room, Deidara stared up at Nara's cell as while Sasori was leaning besides him and flipping his everlasting magazine.

'_God, what a douche.'_ Rolling his eyes at his artistic cellmate, the long, blond-haired man ignored the flips and falls of their belongings as the guards probably tore their cell upside-down, searching, and instead kept staring in a growing curiosity at Nara's cell.

Recently, he noticed Itachi spending a lot of time around it, and although his and Nara's gang had sort a made peace (for the time being) he still knew that Itachi and Shikamaru were on daggers with each other, which, however, made him wonder: _'Why be in a company of one another if they can't stand each other?'_

Done with their search, the officers left the cell and proceeded to the next one.

Not paying mind to the guards going pass him, and Sasori entering back into their cell with a displeased groan at the mess the guards left behind (apparently the guards cared to show no decency or respect to the prisoners, not when the issue of a murder of one of their own was brought up), Deidara kept pondering over what might be happening inside Nara's cell, until his interest got interrupted and drawn slightly to the right.

Spotting a displeased Madara storm out of Hozuki's cell followed by an emotionless Orochimaru, who looked around himself before casually walking to the other direction, Deidara couldn't suppress a small chuckle. _'Seems that Uchiha is in a desperate need of a helping fool. Hmm… It's a shame that Kabuto is still getting patched up, for Madara would surely force his ass to take the blame for the murder. Alas, what a shame it is that it can't be so, hm.'_ Amusing himself, Deidara looked to the side and nodded to the approaching Hidan and Kakuzu.

Grinning at the ravage that was now Deidara and Sasori's messed up cell, Hidan gave a loud laugh, "I see the badges fucked your cell."

Scrunching his nose up, Deidara retorted, "Don't worry, hm. You'll get your turn soon enough as well."

"Hah. _If_ they make it till our cell, that is," Hidan added, smirking secretly as he pointed towards Madara's cell that was only three cells away.

At least one third of the inmates already knew who the murderer of the officer Mizuki was, but none dared to tell on him. Too frightened or too ignorant to care. Anyways, most of them just though it was only a matter of time before the officers found it out themselves…so why even bother?

Deidara gave him a deceptive glance, "I wouldn't be as sure if I were you."

Hidan frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

Looking up at Hozuki's cell, Deidara wondered if Madara managed to dispose of his 'evidence' in time or did Orochimaru do something to interrupt that process, but as soon as he saw Suigetsu stomp out of his cell and towards Nara's he guessed that Madara didn't.

"Uchiha is going to drown some poor sap in his place."

…

11:17

Staring at him in dumbfound disbelief, Suigetsu opened his mouth, "What?"

Restraining himself from biting his lip, Shikamaru wondered what he could say to the man without arising much suspicion on the matter.

"What do you mean we can't bust the fucker to the cops? That bastard nearly sold me for his blasted murder! We totally can!"

"Suigetsu," rising to his feet, Naruto tried to reason with him, "We can't rat on Madara, because…"

"Because?" urging the reluctant blond to continue, Suigetsu started to get rather suspicious. _'What's wrong with them? Are they trying to hide something?'_

"…because, if we do… he's going to say that me and Shikamaru were alongside him during the murder." _'There! That should be a good reason!'_ satisfied with his lie that the other man seemed to buy, Naruto and Shikamaru breathed out more calmly, while Itachi just felt amused and turned his face towards the entrance to hide his small chuckle.

Being the only one close enough to hear that sinister laugh, Naruto subdued the urge to punch the man in the face.

"Now hold up! He threatened you?" asked surprised Suigetsu.

"Well… yes. Seeing that we were the closest witnesses at that time and all…" murmured Naruto, rubbing his neck.

"That son-of-a-bitch! How dare he!" cursing the man, while Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged unnerved glances behind his back, Suigetsu suddenly roared out, "Ya know what? That's it! I say it's high time to bring him down."

"Hm?"

"Now's not the time to play a cute ignorant Blondie. What I'm saying is – let's just end this and kill him before he drags someone else into his mess."

Naruto's eyes widened, Shikamaru groaned and palmed his face, while Itachi just kept looking away while trying not to laugh at the jumping problems that kept on tackling the blond to the ground.

'_Fucking crap, Suigetsu! Go to Hell already! We can't fucking do that as well!'_ clenching his hands before they leashed out and strangled the delightedly grinning man, Naruto wondered if hitting Suigetsu hard enough upside his head will give him amnesia?

"Killing him now is not an option." argued Naruto.

Losing his grin, Suigetsu growled back, "What? Why the fuck not? Are we to just sit around and watch as the fucker gets someone else take the blame for his fucking problems? Fuck no!"

"Urgh. Think with your head, Suigetsu! We can't kill him now. The guards are crawling all around this place. Are you willing to just slit his throat while the authority has a wide-eyed look on you?"

"Well…no but…, Fuck! ARgh! Ok, fine, you made your point. But we can't just fucking let it slide like that."

"Yes, we know that." finally making the man see his way, Naruto sighed in relief. "So let's just wait until we have an opened shot and end his life without witness. Alright?"

Although not pleased, Suigetsu forced a nod. He did not like the fact that they could not sell the blasted Uchiha to the cops, and nor could they do anything to stop him from blaming his murder onto some innocent sap. The only think they could do, was make sure that that 'sap' was none of their friends.

"This is Fucking Bullshit!"

…

11:54

"Hey, Jiroubou! Get your fat ass off my bed before you fuckin' break it!" stepping into his cell, Kidoumaru growled as he saw his cellmate sitting on his top-bunk with a book in hand that he was curiously flipping through. "What you got there by the way?" he asked, changing his tantrum to curiosity as he wondered about the book, knowing fully well that his cellmate couldn't read.

"Ah, this? Uchiha gave it to me." said Jiroubou, not looking up from flipping the pages.

Kidoumaru's shoulders went stiff, that name never brought good news. "U-Uchiha?"

"Yeah. Said there are some real nice pictures in here. Suggested me to look them up. Said they were real colorful. But crap, I can't find them!" As soon as those words left his mouth, Jiroubou finally found the so called 'colorful' pictures that revealed to be the red stains of a blooded dagger stuffed in the middle.

All pieces of the puzzle paced together – why Uchiha? why the book? why Jiroubou? –, and Kidoumaru screamed, "YOU IDIOT! Get rid of it, quick!" he shouted, snatching the book away from Jiroubou's fingers and ran for the exit to throw it out… but everything in him suddenly froze as soon as he turned and saw the guards standing right in his way.

Enraged eyes of the five officers fell on the book in Kidoumaru's trembling hands that suddenly slipped to the ground and a loud clatter of metal hitting the concrete floor was produced as something fell out of the pages.

The whole cellblock dropped in dead silence. A blooded dagger was lying right between the officers and their found 'culprit'.

"…th-th…this is not…" stammering and losing part of his voice, Kidoumaru nearly fell to the floor as Asuma picked the dagger up and began advancing him with a murderous glare. "…no-nO-NO! We have nothing to do with this!" Kidoumaru screamed, trying to defend their incent truth. "We don't even have ANY IDEA how this got in our room! This isn't-…" though the harder he tried to convince them the more it enraged the already pissed officers. Losing control, angered Asuma slammed his fist into the man's abdomen, making him choke and finally shut up. "Take them away!" he barked.

Locking a secure hold on the gasping Kidoumaru, Izumo and Kotetsu began dragging him away, while Kakashi and Genma went into the cell to retreat dumbly confused Jiroubou.

…

12:00

Gripping the railings, Naruto, Shikamaru and Itachi along with the rest of the inmates watched as screaming and kicking Kidoumaru and Jiroubou were taken away. All excuses and shouts of them being 'setup by the Uchiha' were ignored, seeing that it was very common of prisoners to blame someone else for their wrongdoings.

"Mmm-mmm…I feel so relieved that them bad-guys are taken away."

Looking over his shoulder, Naruto and the other two inmates glared in disgust at the merrily singing Madara approaching them from behind.

Smiling at the seething trio, which he dared call his self-proclaimed teammates, Madara flashed them a sweet grin, "Now that our problem's out of the way, what you say we get _digging_, ne, mi compadres?"

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Huge thanx ta:_ Conflicted Soul, Felnore, saya420, narubby23, Savagehunger47, dragonzice, Narutopokefan, Tachi Kagahara, itachisgurl93, seto'swifey, neko raccoon, CHARbones, brokenfromthepast, sousie, wishing-conscious & chibi-neco! ;DD


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 14**_

* * *

05:03

Pushing a huge dusty shelf out of the way, Naruto revealed the freshly hammered out hole in the wall that lead into a draining pipe.

Pulling out Nara's lighter from his pocket, he ignited it and climbed inside the darkness of the hole.

Crawling his way through the cold pipe, moist with dirt and corrosion, he soon found himself in the center of the running sewer tunnels, spreading around him before the ends of the draining pipe.

First tunnel on his right ran the water system into the Guard Main Tower, second, he calculated, must have lead to the main center of the Prison, the third was probably connected with the Guard Break-room and Toxic Center, fourth – the Psych Ward and final fifth – the Infirmary Building.

Noting the knee-high running floods of water right below the draining pipe, streaming into each one of the tunnels, Naruto pulled his shoes and socks off and with rolled up pants slid down the drainpipe and jumped into the fifth tunnel.

Carefully, so he would not slip, Naruto went down the skew tunnel and soon came to the end of its length, revealing a view to a wide, six meter high and three meter wide drainage area.

The small water streams ran down the tunnel and into a wide waterspout below his feet. Glancing up and above, Naruto inspected a small, yet wide enough to squeeze through, grating in the ceiling, which, by the looks of it, was leading to a utility room, and which, if not mistaken, was situated right below the infirmary.

'_Found ya.'_ A small smile broke through Naruto's features before he climbed back up the tunnel.

…

09:24

A loud shout from one of the prisoners suddenly jerked Naruto awake and he sighed. _'Geez…ain't it too early to be so excited?'_ Stiffing a loud yawn, Naruto rubbed his tired eyes and tried to roll onto his back, which could've been easier done if someone hadn't been sitting on his legs. Irritation quickly bolted towards his sluggish cellmate, "Cut i' out, Nara!"

A low growl was emitted from above before a familiar voice, though not the one he first suspected, with a bit of anger added to it replied to his attack. "Nara isn't here right now, little fish."

Startled, Naruto quickly looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened as soon as he saw who was straddling him and he nearly screamed, "What the fuck are you doing in my bed, Susanoo?"

Smirking in that smug manner of his, Itachi leaned back on his heels. "Molesting you in your sleep, of course."

"Urgh…stop that! And get the fuck off! It's too damn early for me to deal with you!" growled Naruto as he tried to pull the sheets from under Itachi's legs and over his head, which was rather hard to do with the added weight on them.

Amused with the little inmate's struggle and feeling no shame at all, Itachi leaned back and instead sat on Naruto's shanks. "Sorry to disappoint, but I find this a rather admirable position. Besides, it's too late for you to go back to sleep now. It's past nine. About time you got up."

"Argh, Shut up! Unlike you, some of us were _working_ the entire night, and deserve a little bit more time of rest, so there! Now go away."

"Tsk-tsk-tsk, such indecorum towards your guest."

"Guest my ass!"

"Fitting that you mention 'ass'," smirked Itachi as his eyes slowly traveled towards the round yet nicely formed bump wriggling under the sheets, "I was just admiring that particular part of yours."

Before the retort could come out, Naruto gave an embarrassing yelp as Itachi suddenly smacked him on his ass and Naruto's temper exploded. "Susanoo, You Fucking Bastard!"

Jumping off of the yelling boy, Itachi quickly slipped out of the cell in time to dodge a flying bible going after him. Chuckling to himself, Itachi pocketed his hands and casually strolled back towards his cell. "I'll catch you later, little fish."

…

10:53

Inside private meetings room…

"I'm scared Shikamaru." lying under the sheets whispered Ino, hiding her concerned face under his chin while Shikamaru ran his fingers over her back.

Having told her about the escape the last time they met, Shikamaru was hoping to not upset her and it seemed that a part of it didn't work. "Hey, it's ok. Everything's going to be fine. I promise."

"I just…I don't want you to get into more trouble. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sighing, Shikamaru kissed her temple and pulled her into a tighter embrace. "I'm sure. And as long as you are, we're going to make it through."

"But…what if your plan fails? What if it goes all wrong?"

"Trust me. Everything's going to be ok."

"…Do you really trust that guy so much? …Are you certain he's not going to just leave you behind?"

Closing his eyes, Shikamaru thought back to his cellmate, actually having a slight doubt about what could happen to him once they're outside the walls. Would Naruto deceive him? Or maybe kill him? There's no telling how he'll react once outside the prison, however… "I doubt it." he answered with a small smile plastering on his face. "Naruto isn't like that." _'…At least not as far as I know him…'_

"If you're sure…"

"I am." Scowling, Shikamaru still felt more unsure than sure; doubt and worry was too permanent in his mind, though he chose to ignore it for the good of Ino.

Nodding with a slight shudder in her breath, Ino encircled her hands around Shikamaru's waist and tightened her grip, whispering silently, "Sh-Shikamaru…I have something I must tell you."

A fine brown brow arched up as the blond-haired girl started fiddling with her fingers too much.

…

12:36

Picking up his tube of toothpaste, Naruto opened the lid and began squeezing its content out into the sink, emptying the tube completely out.

Just as he finished pushing the white substance out, he heard his cell bars get brushed by hand and a voice speak up, "How ya doin', pretty?"

Shooting a glare at the smirking Uchiha leaning against his cell's entrance, Naruto grumbled back, "What do you want?"

Looking offended, Madara entered the room, "Come now, is this any way to talk with your partner in crime?"

"You and I never cooperated in any crime, Madara."

"Hm…, but we will soon." Stopping behind the busy blond's back, Madara didn't take as much interest into what he was doing as what he was wearing and how to take it off without using much effort. "Tell me. How did such an impressive specimen as yourself managed to get himself into this shithole?"

"That's none of your business." hissed Naruto, washing his tube clean from the paste and trying to ignore the other man who leant close enough to smell his hair.

"There you go again, leaving me behind. I thought we were supposed to be partners." taking a small step closer, Madara placed his one arm over Naruto's hip while the other went to gently settle on his neck, "And don't partners share their past experiences together…among _other_ things?" to make a point, he pushed his hips into the blond's.

"I ain't your partner." growled Naruto pushing Madara away from him.

Giggling, the murderer ran his tongue over his upper lip. "Shame… Though don't forget, we're still escaping together."

"As unfortunate as it sounds, 'yes' we are. But don't forget _this_. Once outside, it's every man for himself."

"Indeed," a challenging glint formed in Madara's eyes and a sly smirk merged his lips, "But _you_ should take something into mind as well, beautiful. Once we're outside, I'm gonna have my way with you."

Clenching his fists over the sink, Naruto sharply turned around and punched Madara into the chin.

"Fuck!" rearing his head back, Madara gripped his bruised chin and looked back at glaring Naruto with a pleased grin, "Feisty. Even better."

A slight tap against the bars suddenly disturbed their further interaction and Madara scowled as he saw Shikamaru. Fixing his jaw back with a slight crack, Madara sent one more menacing stare at Naruto before leaving, "I'll see ya later, sweetheart."

Waiting till Madara was out, Naruto 'tsk'-ed and ran his hand through his hair, "Bastard."

With a small sigh, Naruto heading back to his task and picked Shikamaru's toothpaste up. Receiving no usual 'drag' comment from his cellmate, Naruto looked at Nara's reflection in the mirror. "So? How'd it go?" he asked, wondering about Shikamaru's conjugal with his girlfriend Ino while squeezing out his toothpaste without permission.

"… …Naruto…"

"Hn?"

"… …I…"

Rising an eyebrow at the lost voice emitted from the other, Naruto placed the tube aside and regarded his cellmate. "What's the matter?" he asked confused, absorbing the man's eyes that seemed to fill up with too many emotions to follow. Though some of them could be distinguished pretty well – shock, fear and slight bit of joy.

"…I'm…a…"

Naruto began to worry; Shikamaru was never a type to lose the bearings of his voice, especially in confidence. All that should be covered by that ever lazy expression of his was suddenly dissolved in thin air.

And Shikamaru's blank stare into space only made it worse…

Forget worry, Naruto started to panic, "WHAT? What the Hell is it! Talk to me, damn you!"

Watching him take an unsteady step into the cell, Naruto gasped as Shikamaru's legs suddenly gave out and, although he did manage to have a secure hold on the bars to slide down, he dropped to his knees. Rushing to his side, Naruto kneeled before the man whose breath suddenly began giving irregular huffs and puffs and gripped his shoulders. "Wh-what the hell? What's going on with you? Are you drunk or something?" hastily questioned Naruto, quieting up only then when Shikamaru reached out and gripped his biceps in a tight hold. "Shikamaru…?"

"…I'm… I…" Before Naruto lost his patience and started to shout out for him to just spit it out, his voice dried out faster than water in desert, as Shikamaru then whispered out, "I'm gonna be a father."

Blinking once, twice and maybe ten more, Naruto filled his lungs with full air. "WHAT?"

…

13:09

Happiness was the brightest light Naruto was hoping to catch shimmering in Shikamaru's eyes, but unfortunately, instead there was that annoying glimmer of self-loathing. Hatred for being who he was, is and who he'll resemble as to his kid in near future – be it as a prisoner…a bad man…a thief…a killer (even though that was never Nara's moto)… or something from each of the named; but never a father…

"What will become of me?" muffled questions were whispered as Shikamaru stared into nothingness. "What will it see me as? Am I even ready for it?"

Sitting cross-legged on his bed's outer side, Naruto looked over his cellmate, who was lying face down into the bed, just freeing out the desperation from his building emotions.

"If I'm to become a father, then what hell of a father will it make me, if I come from a fucking prison? How can a father be a blasted prisoner? Kids have to look up and learn from parents, not _inmates_." Gripping the sheets, Shikamaru heaved an exasperated sigh, "…What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Halting in drawing circles around his feet, Naruto glanced towards Nara with slight sympathy. He wasn't sure what one said to a desperate parent/inmate to be, especially since he never knew what life looked like when it gets invaded by a child's birth. "Are you…afraid?"

Turning onto his back, Shikamaru looked into perplexed blue eyes. "Mustn't I be?" he asked, searching for any answers that could help him.

Staring down at him, Naruto lidded his eyes halfway. "You mustn't." not quite sure why he suddenly said it, Naruto decided to continue, since it was already too late to take the words back now and Nara was pleading for further explanation anyways.

Looking away, Naruto dropped his legs over the bed and leant his elbows on his knees, "I guess…it doesn't really matter what history you had, be it as a prisoner or a prime minister…" Snorting at the choice of comparison, Shikamaru listened on. "…The main thing that counts – is how much care and love you show. All your past mistakes might be forgotten if you show the will to cherish and protect. Something like that can never be taken for granted." Memories flashed by as Naruto thought of his own childhood, his father and his brother and all that's ever stood between them, "To be the protector of your children, of people you love – to protect them and to love them, to care for them – I think that's the most important thing of all…" getting no response to his mixed words, Naruto looked to the side and blinked as he saw Shikamaru sitting by his side, looking at him with interest in his eyes. Blush spread freely across his cheeks and Naruto quickly dropped his afar looking smile in exchange of a sheepish laugh and a rub on his neck, "I…I might not exactly be the person that should give advices," _'Proclaimed as an assassin after all.'_ "…but that's what I think. Maybe, you being who you are, will not even be in your child's concern, all that'll matter will be the pride you'll take in them and the protection you will provide.

And…although an awkward, I'm sure you'll make a great father."

Still staring at the blond, Shikamaru couldn't help but feel ease wash over him and a small smile replace his concerns. _'To always protect those who you love, huh? Is this how you got here in the first place, Naruto?'_ "…Thank you, Naruto."

Staring at the sudden smile on Nara's lips that made no sinister intentions or mockery (which itself was weird due to the fact that it was a rather rare exchange between them, especially as inmates), Naruto's cheeks burned even redder and he quickly stood up. _'Damn it, of all the things to let myself get so mushy about. Stupid Nara!'_ "Maa… yeah well, anyhow, just don't worry, ok?" Rubbing his nose, Naruto turned away and went back to the sink, hoping to ignore that amused smirk Shikamaru was probably sporting now and, hopefully, drop the blasted soppy subject.

"Naruto…you're a pretty sensitive guy, aren't you?"

"Urusai!"

…

16:43

Sitting across the benches, Naruto rested his head on Shikamaru's lap. Finally able to clear his head off of his depressed cellmate's 'parental'-issue, who seemed quite 'content' at the moment (that emptied pack of smoked out cigarettes per half-hour was probably doing Shikamaru's brain justice now. Nara was not worried, no, not at all…), _'Riiight…'_ sighing, Naruto shook his head and instead started thinking of his next steps needed to be taken before breaking out.

"Not that I ain't glad Kabuto's dogs got locked down, but don't you think it'd be better to have Madara's head rolling in it?" still sulky over all Madara-thing, Suigetsu blew out a ring of smoke.

"Just don't try and rebel, Hozuki. I don't feel like spending another month in the box." grumbled Neji, remembering one of their past experiences when rising against Madara and his goons for no particular reason, which ended with them all dragged inside the isolation ward.

"Yea, man. Play'nough." sighed Kiba, bathing in the light of the sun. "As long as that psycho's not coming near us, I'm cool."

"Why search for trouble if it will come to you uninvited either way? You better enjoy what you get now." knowingly said Shino, although his attention was fixed on a small bug running up the wooden bench.

Getting no support, Hozuki huffed, "Che. You're all _weaklings_, the lot of ya!"

"Don't pout Suigetsu. Madara will get his too…soon enough." assured Naruto.

"Yeah. It's just a matter of time," agreed Shikamaru as his eyes silently scanned over the vivid prisoners before settling on Susanoo across the yard.

Turning his face to the side, Naruto looked to where Shikamaru was staring and frowned in curiosity as Itachi's narrowed eyes met theirs and he silently nodded with his head for them to follow before disappearing somewhere behind the prison.

Putting out his last cigarette, Shikamaru poked Naruto to get up and grabbed his hand.

"Yo! Where are you two going?" shouted Suigetsu behind them.

Shikamaru smirked, "Why? Must there be a reason for us to spend some time _alone_?"

Receiving a light punch from Naruto and loud wolf-calls from his gang, Shikamaru chuckled and pulled glaring, red Naruto after him.

"I am feeling inspired!" joyously cried Lee. "Neji?"

"Oh hell no!"

…

Once reaching the other side of the prison, Naruto froze as he saw Itachi waiting them by a familiar shed close to the diner. Bad memories quickly came back and he shuddered, though still followed Shikamaru and entered into the empty tool shed.

Gathered in the privacy of the shed, the three men eyed one another before Itachi briefed the point of their meeting out, "We're taking Madara down. Tonight. Right after six."

"You have everything settled?" asked Shikamaru, sounding like a pro at that point.

Itachi regarded him with a look, saying, "I think you should know better."

Shrugging, Shikamaru pocketed his hands.

"So who's gonna be the one to do it, aside from us?" asked Naruto, receiving two pairs of eyes on him. "What? Do you think I don't know how it works? Obviously it ain't gonna be either of us to do it."

Smirking, Itachi nodded, "It'll be Kisame."

"The sharkskin?" Shikamaru blinked.

"Aa… Just give him an opportunity to kill someone and he'll jump head first to grasp it. So? Does anyone have any disagreements so far?"

Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged questioning frowns. "I don't know, it's a very tough question, don't you think so too?" asked Naruto with a playful sarcasm in his tone.

"Indeed. I think I need time to reconsider all the prons and cons." Nodding, Shikamaru and Naruto soon burst in small chuckles, while Itachi just rolled his eyes at the odd mad-childish behavior; not even bothered that it was a person's life they were fooling with and laughing at.

"Ok. Seeing that none has any complaints, I'll get everything started."

"Get _what_ started?"

Naruto and Shikamaru's sniggers died down as their eyes snapped towards the entrance.

"I feel a little left out. Am I missing something?" smirked Madara, stepping in.

"Nothing that could be of a concern to you." said Naruto, pushing pass Madara and heading to exit the dreadful shed.

"Really?" watching him go, Madara raised his voice as he then said, "You know I can't help but sense the rise of conspiracy. And here I thought that partners were supposed to stick together. You planning something against me?"

"Why would you think that?" asked Naruto, trying not to let his smirk get exposed as he gripped the handle of the creaking shed door.

"The air is too thick." Sniffing the air, Madara wrinkled his nose, "It smells of something _bad_."

"Then I guess you finally got the wind of your own scent, Uchiha," smirked Shikamaru as he and Itachi walked pass him.

Glaring after them, Madara then called out with a sinister smile, _'Laugh all you want. But we'll see who gets the last laugh.'_ "Hey. Before you go, there's an announcement I'd like to make."

Letting the handle of the doors go, Naruto turned around as did the other two. "What announcement?"

"My insurance policy. You see, while you three were…playing around, _I_ called to one of my men outside and told him about our plan." Happy to get the wanted reaction that expressed in two heated glares and one frown, Madara continued enlightening them of his genius with firing glee in his eyes, "I told him that I'm going to call him every day starting from now and brief him on our progress. And if one of my calls is going to get missing – god forbid, of course –, he'll get in touch with the authorities and sound the alarm of this whole escape."

By now, Itachi and Shikamaru were burning with anger while Naruto felt his nerves tighten in unbearable knots. Yet again, Madara ruined everything.

Strolling by the frozen figures like the king of the road, Madara stopped by Naruto's side and sang in mockery, "So if you all planned on getting rid of me, I suggest you make other plans."

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thank ya:_ itachisgurl93, Felnore, brokenfromthepast, CHARbones, saya420, runes01, Tachi Kagahara, Narutopokefan, Hephaistos, narubby23, sousie, Conflicted Soul, Savagehunger47, 3ntitylvr & neko raccoon! XDD

_Replies:  
_neko raccoon – good plan, let's pile up;))

Conflicted Soul – Sure, kill Madara, just don't make too much of a bloodshed, it's hard to scrub off the floorXDD Anyways, no worries, I'm gonna take care of him in this story…someday, but not right now;))  
Umm…yeah, yer right there, I ain't going to do that baby-thing with Naruto & Itachi, won't be right…:)


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 15**_

* * *

08:17

Rising up with a loud yawn, Shikamaru groggily jumped off his bed and dragged himself towards the sink. Sighing into the mirror, he ran a hand through his messed up hair and reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste. Opening the lid while stiffing another loud yawn, he was just about to squeeze the substance of the paste out but blinked as it was suddenly snatched from his fingers with a hiss,

"Are you nuts? I need that!" Clicking the toothpaste back close, Naruto dropped it in his pocket.

"What a…Hey! Give it back."

"Sorry, Shik'." smirking at his glaring cellmate, Naruto wiggled his finger, "But I need it for something else. Besides, I doubt you'd like to get your mouth full with masonry cleaner right now."

Blinking at him, Shikamaru stared. "…A _what_?"

"Doesn't matter." reaching for his own toothpaste that was filled with drain line root control he filled during his little trip down the Toxic Control Center the other day, Naruto pocketed it in his other pocket and turned to his grouchy cellmate. "Ever heard of _anhydrous phosphoric acid_?"

Shikamara gave him a heavy look, "Does it look like I'm a freaking chemist?"

Chuckling, Naruto leant against the wall. "It's a solid that can melt metal at a high degree. A rather viscous liquid once combined from phosphoric acid and copper sulfate. Or in other words – a mixture of masonry cleaner plus root control."

Staring at him, Shikamaru finally gave up on trying to understand the blond's maze of a mind and tiredly rubbed his stiff neck. "Man what a pain. I don't think I even understand what you're saying right now…"

"Don't strain yourself." waving his hand dismissingly, Naruto sniggered to himself, "It's not like I'm trying to teach you something here. Am just glad that ya didn't 'drink' the stuff. It was really hard for me to get it, ya know."

"Why does something tell me that you wouldn't have even bothered to _stop_ me from actually "drinking" it, weren't it so damn important to you."

Flashing a smug smirk, Naruto patted his scowling cellmate on the shoulder just as officer Hatake stepped by and called for Uzumaki's name. "Well I ain't gonna say that I would actually _mind_."

Glaring after him, _'That little bastard,'_ Nara sighed and went to steal someone else's toothpaste.

…

09:03

Lying on his back, Naruto stared at the white ceiling while doctor Haruno checked his stitched stomach. Cautiously, his eyes travelled to the nurse sitting by the desk, writing something down, and to the officers in the hall talking between themselves. Two tubes of toothpastes lay nestled in his pant-pockets, waiting to be used out.

Running a moist cloth over the slightly purple bruise forming around the wound, Sakura then applied some ointment before ordering Naruto to sit up so she could bandage his stomach back up. "Just a few more days and we'll be able to get the stitches out. So far, the skins drifting nicely and there's no screaming signs of an infection."

Nodding, Naruto put on his shirt and grabbed the offered glass of water and pills. Watching the doctor then leave, Naruto slowly stood up and went towards the sink near the window, peering secretly down at a drainage grate underneath it.

Glancing pass his shoulder, he caught Hinata's curious eyes and wiggled his empty glass. "Can I have some more water, please? The pills sort a stuck in my throat."

Nodding with a smile, she went to get him water.

As soon as she was gone, Naruto quickly removed the tubes from his pockets and squatted near the grate on the floor and began squeezing their substance into the drain. With that done, he rose back to his feet and looked outside the grated window, following the line of electrical wires. _'That's 19 minutes.'_ he thought,_ 'Just 19 minutes to tear out this window and get us all four over the wall. That'll take roughly 3 to 4 minutes for each of us to climb if we manage to tear the window out in 5.'_

A silent hiss precipitated inside the drain as both chemicals came in contact and immediately started reacting.

Smiling at that, Naruto turned around just as both doctor and nurse returned.

…

09:36

Placing his hand against the wall, Naruto lightly dropped his head down as he allowed the water to flow over his neck and shoulders in a pleasant tickle.

"Now that's what you call a work of art, hm."

Disturbed from his peace, Naruto cocked his neck to the side and glared at a tall blond entering the practically empty shower-room; thankfully with a towel around his waist.

Closing the shower taps down, Naruto angrily grabbed his own towel and walked away.

"Oi-oi-oi… come now come, don't be like that. I was just trying to state a compliment is all." Sniggering, Deidara, the longhaired blond, followed Naruto as he went to grab his clothes.

"Is there something you need?" coldly asked Naruto, not facing the other blond.

"Can't a guy just have a light conversation with another inmate?"

"With me, no. Unless there's something you want you wouldn't have even bothered to look my way."

Smirking, Deidara stared at Naruto's flexing back while the smaller blond gather his belongings. _'Crafty.'_ "Maybe I do then." Crossing his arms, the man cocked his hip to the side, "I ain't gonna beat around the bush. I just need to know one thing. Tell me, fish: what business does Itachi have with you that he is willing to spend so much time in a company of one Nara Shikamaru? Well, yes, I guess I can understand _why_," emphasizing the point by waving at Naruto's ass while he wasn't looking, Deidara frowned as he then thought, "but I at least expected him to have the decency and get rid of Shikamaru first before taking the claim on you for himself, hm. I don't think threesome is his thing."

Sick and tired of being called someone's thing to claim and all that shit, Naruto turned around and suddenly grabbed Deidara by his long hair, pulling him viciously at eye-level. "I'm nobody's _price_, princess. And as for what business Susanoo has with Shikamaru and me, it's none of _your_ business!" pushing the shocked man away, Naruto stomped pass him though stopped when he felt the other abruptly grab his wrist.

"I beg to differ." suddenly turning serious, Deidara's visible eye began radiating of suspicion. "I know there's something going on in your cell which has nothing to do with his self pleasure. Tell me what it is."

"Poker." suddenly said a new voice from the entrance and both blonds quickly looked over to the frowning Itachi.

"Poker, hm?" Letting Naruto go, Deidara huffed and puffed his cheeks, "'Hmph'! Figures why you wouldn't tell me something like that."

Looking from one to another, Naruto curiously asked, "And why's that?"

"Simple. He cheats." curtly explained Itachi, making Deidara smirk with pride.

"And I'm damn proud of it. There's none better in a poker game than me! I never lose."

Watching the blond from the corner of his eye, Naruto couldn't stop his own smirk from rising. _'Oh really…'_

Catching the shrewd look, Deidara arched an amused brow, "Is that a challenge I see? Don't tell me that a little fish is up for a game against _me_, hm."

"Perhaps I am. But I don't think _you_'ll be up for it." cockily Naruto shot back.

"Is that a threat?"

Smiling cheekily, Naruto threw his clothes over his shoulder. "No. Just a warning."

"Well I'll be damn…what a sweet-sweet sight I'm seeing." whistling in impression, Madara abruptly swaggered in with nothing but a towel over his shoulders.

Rolling his eyes away from the man's proud 'display', Naruto's hand momentarily went to hold the knot of his towel in security.

Glaring at him from the corner of his eyes, Itachi silently hissed when Madara threw his hand over his shoulders and grinning like mad stared at the two attractive blonds.

"Had I known this will be the thing I'd get to see every morning, hell, I think I'd simply sleep in here. Ne, Susanoo?" licking his lips, Madara cocked his head to peer at Itachi for reaction.

Staring at Madara from the corner of his eye, Itachi couldn't help but smirk at those words too. "Hate to admit it, but it seems you do have a fine taste in that trash you call your brain."

Glaring daggers at the two ravens, both blonds suddenly had a gush of sympathy for each other.

"However," smacking the offended hand away, Itachi stepped before Naruto and without asking for permission suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the entrance, exchanging one more glance with Madara before the leave, "That doesn't mean I'm giving you the rights to touch that what I lay my eyes on a long time ago."

Watching as the two left, Madara slumped with a dramatic sigh, "Ah…and here I already thought of positions involving four people. Nevertheless," setting then his gleaming eyes on Deidara, Madara's grin charged back up and he threw his towel away, "I guess two are better than nothing, right? Deidara-chan?"

"GET BENT, HM!" snapped the said Deidara-chan as he ran out of the stalls.

"I almost did." frowning at the empty showers, disappointed Madara was about to leave as well but stopped when he saw someone else enter. Smirk was back in place once more. "Oh Kiba-kuuun."

…

Entering the exchange room, Itachi reluctantly let Naruto's hand slip from his own and he turned away. "Get dressed. I'm not going to look."

Blinking at the man in half confusion and half shock, Naruto almost laughed at the words. "Since when had you ever concerned yourself with other people's privacy?"

Arching a brow, Itachi looked over his shoulder with a sly smirk. "Why? Does this mean I'm allowed to watch?"

"No it _doesn't_!"

Chuckling at the 'almost' screech, Itachi crossed his arms and looked away once more. "You don't have to strain yourself around me, little fish. I'm not going to force myself on an unwilling."

'_Yeah…suuure,'_ huffing in sarcasm, Naruto reached for his shirt, all the while keeping a careful eye on Susanoo's back. "You say that but still molest me in my sleep. How's _that_ any different from 'unwilling'."

"It's not rape." easily brushed Itachi, looking to the side as he heard a sudden yell from the showers followed by hasty footsteps of someone running away.

"You make it sound as if it's _nothing_." a bit angry, Naruto growled.

"Why? Should it be something?"

Staring at Itachi in mid disbelief, Naruto furrowed his brows in deep remorse. "… Yes, Susanoo. It should." Itachi's indifference towards other person's feelings was something that cut deep. That man was acting as if everything, including him, was but a quick fuck to go by. Though what could Naruto expect? Itachi was an inmate after all, and god only knew what his history held on him. And yet, for some mysterious reason all that really bothered Naruto.

The elder male was quickly taken by the hollowness of those softly spoken words. Turning around, he looked deep into Naruto's narrowed eyes. Before those depths escaped his stare he saw something he did not think he'll ever see in another inmate's eyes. There was hurt, disappointment and something he did not know how to name. Though it did not matter…, Itachi already knew what was hidden behind it all together.

Naruto was not like those who gave their bodies on daily rides as soon as they got swung by a handsome face, no. He was someone who was looking for a commitment.

"But does Nara know that as well?"

Suddenly Itachi asked and Naruto could hear angry hardness in those words. "Know what?" he questioned just to prolong his answer.

"What you're actually expecting from your intended? Does he know of your feelings? Your wants?"

With his eyes widening some, Naruto swallowed a bothersome lump. _'How can he see through me so easily? Hell even Sasuke can't do that.'_ It did not help when Itachi kept staring at him, calculating his every blink or inhale, as if waiting to find something new. "Yes he does." he lied a bit uptight.

Itachi's brows knitted together, quickly noting doubts and fabrication in those blue gems that tended to flicker from time to time. "Is that right…" Itachi grunted thoughtfully, more to himself than the other.

Not willing to meet those sharp blacks of eyes that just seemed to want to swallow him up, Naruto faced away, fiddling with his shirt in hand as uneasiness with the man and puzzlement towards his own nervousness suddenly took effect. "Please… c-could you let me change in peace?"

Without a word to say back, Itachi turned away and left, his mind already settled on something he needed to deal with anyways.

Sighing as he heard the exchange room doors close, Naruto ran his fingers through his wet hair in frustration. _'Damn it! Why must Itachi's attitude towards such petit things as relationship disturb me so?'_ Could it be that he's actually starting to expect something from that man?

…

10:37

Walking up the stairs and towards Nara's cell, Itachi quickly found Shikamaru in there towel-drying his face. Skipping a quick glance behind himself, Itachi entered the cell with a call, "Nara."

"Huh?" turning around, Shikamaru's back suddenly collided with the sink as Itachi's fist abruptly connected harshly with his left cheek. "AHH! FUCK! What are y-?"

No place for words, Itachi ruthlessly hoisted the shocked brunet by his shirt and threw him out of the cell.

Crushing into Kisame as he walked by, Shikamaru quickly ducked as Itachi came forth again and instead of hitting his face slammed his fist into Kisame's abdomen, who dropped down in painful bemusement.

"Itachi What The Hell!" helping poor Kisame up, Zetsu blinked as Susanoo paid no mind nor to him nor his passed out cellmate and went back on charging the stupefied Nara.

"Su-SuSANOO! Are You Out Of Your MIND!el" dodging hit after hit after hit, Shikamaru finally managed to catch Itachi's left fist into his own and slammed his knee into the man's gut. Tacking him then to the floor, Shikamaru could hear other inmates quickly gather up from all sides, screaming and cheering over the fight while he struggled to keep enraged Susanoo down. "What the Hell's Gotten Into You!"

"I'm bringing senses into your stupid head!" hissed Itachi and slammed his foot into Shikamaru's stomach, throwing him off himself.

"What?" still confused and blinking, Shikamaru's breath got knocked out as Itachi forced him against the bars of his cell.

"DAMN MAN! SOMEONE STOP THEM!" yelled Suigetsu over the rest of the shouting inmates jumping around in excitement while Itachi and Shikamaru continued beating each other up.

"Why? This is the best thing that's ever happened after the riot!" laughed Hidan, whistling next to his cellmate who was already collecting bets for the win. "Chill man! Let them vent out before the cops show up!"

"Damn it Susanoo! Will you calm down already!"

"Shut up, Nara!" Pushing each other from side to side, Itachi and Shikamaru both gasped as they suddenly slammed against the railings with a bit too much force and both fell over, crashing against the hard ground.

Spreading about the two leaders, the other inmates kept silent as they watched them both gasp for air and finally calm down from their high.

"Shit," struggling to sit up, both hissed at their sore backs and quickly snapped their gazes back at each other, though before another pugilism could break out, a yell from the arriving guards scattered every cellmate back to their holes.

Managing to slip away in time to hide between the rest of the inmates and the problem of facing the guards, Itachi and Shikamaru quickly hid themselves into the closest cell, which conveniently was Nara's.

Dropping down, one on the bed the other on the floor, both regained their breathings once more before Shikamaru started demanding explanations. "What the HELL was THAT! Why the fuck did you attack me!"

"Urgh, will you Shut Up already!" growled Itachi, covering his eyes with a painful hiss, his whole head was spinning around from that fall. "It's your fault anyway."

"…Wh-a-WHAT!"

"What that boy sees in you is beyond me." Grumbling to himself, Itachi sat up in bed and covered his right eyebrow that scored a nasty cut. "You're nothing but a slop."

Blinking at him with his safe eye, Shikamaru heaved a deep sigh, "So it's about Naruto, isn't it?"

Sending him a glare, Itachi licked blood from his lower lip. "Consider this a warning, Nara. If you do anything to hurt that boy's feelings, I'm going to cut your head off."

Pushing himself back to his feet, Shikamaru dragged his trembling body to the bed and dropped down next to Itachi with a heavy hiss, encircling his hands tightly around his flipping stomach. "Why can't you simply confront me before beating all my insides out?"

Chuckling at that, Itachi said, "It's easier to beat it into mind than try and teach it something."

Growling at him, Shikamaru wished he could punch that smirk off of his face, if only he wasn't already as beaten up as he was. "Troublesome fucker. So now that you've nailed me a black eye, am I safe to assume that you're finally giving up on winning Naruto from me and leaving us alone?"

"Keep hoping." sneered Itachi, "I have no intention of leaving that boy to someone like you."

"Then why the hell did you start _beating_ me!"

"I just suddenly felt like doing that." Before Shikamaru could retort back to that remark, Itachi continued in a serious tone, "Does he know that you have a girlfriend?"

Closing his mouth, Shikamaru sighed, finally understanding why Itachi suddenly came and started beating 'senses' into him. _'Ahh…He thinks that I'm hurting Naruto by cheating on him. How unusual that you mark exactly _this_ point out, Susanoo. As long as I remember you, you had never bothered to look deeper into another person's qualms aside their physical depths for your own pleasure.'_ Groaning, Shikamaru dropped his hurting head onto his lap. _'Shit, Naruto. Since when had you managed to contaminate this prison's demon? I can't believe I'm saying this but I think I could stand the old Susanoo better. Oh man this is such a drag. I don't think I can go on like this anymore…'_ No matter how much fun it was to mess with Itachi's head, Shikamaru felt that he might not actually make it out alive if things keep going on as they were now. The pleasure of seeing Itachi on tenterhooks, plus outliving his hell of an anger, was becoming too much of a painful bone-breaking experience for him. _'Maybe it's time to tell him that there is no real relationship between Naruto and me…and he'll leave me alone?'_

"Well, did you tell him?" Itachi was getting impatient.

'_Then again…why should I tell the whole truth?'_ feeling sadistic, and for that reason masochistic as well, Shikamaru decided to keep quiet about their false relationship and simply say: "Yes I did. …Besides, Naruto and I don't have a 'strong' relationship per se. Our bond stands as a simple understanding between two cellmates. There is no love and there is no passion. There's just comfort. We look for each other."

Half confused and half perplexed, Itachi wondered which one of them was the liar, for neither of the two made any sense. After finding out how strongly Naruto felt about an intimate relationship with another person, and knowing Nara, who had a girlfriend and could give a rat's ass about anyone else, Itachi had to ask then why Naruto kept a nonexistent relationship with someone like Shikamaru in the first place. Unless…a relationship for Naruto meant something other than a simple touch. Thus it brought out another question, "Did you two have sex?"

Shikamaru didn't miss the way those eyes flashed at him, as if already giving a clear warning of what's gonna happen to him if he answers in a positive. "Well that's none of your business." smugly replied Shikamaru, forming an equal glare as Itachi did.

"OH MY GOD! What The Hell!" suddenly yelled a familiar voice of a blond from the cell bars. Staring from one bruised raven to one scarred, black-eyed cellmate, Naruto's mouth hit the floor. "What the fuck happened with you two?"

Sharing heated gazes between themselves, both – Itachi and Shikamaru – hissed simultaneously, "We fell."

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thanx to them reviewers:_ Felnore, Savagehunger47, saya420, itachisgurl93, brokenfromthepast, Narutopokefan, runes01, narubby23, dragonzice, She who quacks alot, jtwsnw20, LadyAngel-LadyDeath, Sev'slittlesecret & lulubeck! XDD


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 16**_

* * *

15:13

Staring at him in half amusement and half skepticism, Kyuubi wondered if perhaps he had overheard, "Come again."

Shooting him an irritating glare, Naruto repeated what he told his brother but seconds ago, "I said: we're including two more."

All signs of humor left Kyuubi's eyes. "Two more? What do you mean _two more_? What a hell is going on, brother?"

"They found the hole, ok! It was a stupid accident. I had no idea how it all even happened. Though if not for the stupid riot and the dumb cop and the idiotic Uchiha…_everything_ would've been _fine_."

Closing his eyes, Kyuubi inhaled deeply as one disturbing word caught his attention the most. "Cop? A freakin' cop found out of your plan?"

Sighing, Naruto rubbed his eyes with a hiss, "Yes. Though don't worry, he ain't a problem anymore."

"You _killed_ him?"

"What?! _No_!"

The redhead's eyes flashed in a warning gesture as he prepared to remind his brother of their job's so called 'codex', "You know it's against our rules to touch a badge unless-…"

"Damn it! I killed no fucking cop!" flinching at his rising voice, Naruto quickly looked towards the guards and was relieved when none actually heard him. "It was the Uchiha who killed him, not me."

"Who is Uchiha?"

"One of the freeloaders." Naruto snarled.

Understanding that the inmate 'Uchiha' was now one of the two new participants in the escape, Kyuubi dribbled his fingers over the table with a distant look. "Who's the other one?"

"Susanoo Itachi. You already heard of him."

"That I did." Lidding his eyes slightly, Kyuubi quickly noticed the difference in Naruto's tone when he spoke of Uchiha and Susanoo; however he saved the comments on it for later as he returned back to the first party of their uninvited guest. "Uchiha… tell me who he is exactly."

Not missing the way Naruto swallowed an uncomfortable lump or the way his eye gave an unnerved twitch, Kyuubi understood that what will be said next will not please him in the slightest.

"Uchiha Madara is a…homicidal murderer. And…a rapist."

Last words were enough for Kyuubi to snap. "_Naruto_!"

Groaning, Naruto slammed his head against the hard table, "Urgh! I know – I know already! Can't you see that I'm already as miserable as I can be?"

Even though known as assassins or sometimes even called as homicidal murderers themselves (atop of which holding deep pride in their work), Naruto and Kyuubi had always been taught that their 'law' and their 'rules' must _never_ cross the borders of abuse. Even the slightest connection to such felony must be eliminated immediately. In other words – a stupration was an assassin's crime.

"God. I've been gone for only a few days, and this is what happens? Where on earth did you get yourself into…"

Slamming his fist against the table, Naruto growled, "Now don't you go around judging me! It's not like I _intended_ for it to happen."

Keeping silent, Kyuubi waited till Naruto calmed down before saying, "I'm not judging you, Naruto, and you know it. All I'm saying is that you must get rid of him, fast."

'Tsk'-ing, Naruto angrily spat out, "I can't."

"Sorry?"

Glancing at the guards, Naruto then leant over the table to whisper to his brother quietly, "He has an insurance. A man outside the walls he gets in contact with every day. If Uchiha misses one call during the time, the man will blow the whistle on this entire escape."

Taking the new information into account, Kyuubi sneered, "So. The dick has brain other than sense of a sexually obsessed lunatic, huh? How…unforeseeable."

Confused by the slight smirk his brother wore, Naruto arched his brow. "I don't get your reaction right now. What's so pleasing about this situation?"

Widening his smirk, Kyuubi regarded his brother with a sadistic twinkle in his eyes. "You know…, if he's such a 'desperate' participant in this gig, why not let him come till the very end then?"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, "What!?"

"After all, it won't be all that interesting to leave our _little guests_ all for the cops, would it?" chuckling sinisterly, Kyuubi leant back into his seat, "In a way, I think that'd be just too…boring."

…

16:39

"19minutes. That's how much we have to break through the iron bars of the infirmary's window and get us all over the wall. The priority of the plan is time plus speed." upholding a little meeting in his cell with his _thrilling_ 'escaping team', Naruto carefully laid down the main details of their slowly closing escape.

"It can result us all to have a minute each to climb the wire if we don't break the bars in necessary time, doesn't it?" calculated Itachi.

"Yes. That's why speed and time in essential." Naruto cleared out. "And that's why we need to plan everything as close and careful to detail as possible. Nothing must be amiss."

"You know. I don't give a shit how we gonna do it all, just tell me how much longer till the actual escape?" grunted Madara impatiently.

Restraining himself from mumbling out a smart remark, Naruto replied truthfully, "I don't know."

"I need the _exact data_. Now, pretty boy!"

"Whatever for?" sneered Itachi, "For the past years it didn't seem to bother you even if you rotted in here."

"In the past years there was no hope in actually escaping this shithole. Now then, give me the right time, sweetness."

Glaring at the man giving him pet names, Naruto lingered between the days of their escape. "After four or six days, perhaps."

The man was pleased. So little time left before his what would've been earlier an impossible release. "Ahh yes…that's what I want to hear. Can you verify it, apple-pie?"

"Why don't you just _wait_ and _see_, stupid!" annoyed, growled Naruto, wishing he had a knife.

"What happens next?" interrupting them asked Itachi, interested to find out of the plan's move once they're outside the prison.

'_You're on your own,'_ was what Naruto would've told them before, but as he glared at Madara, who was probably expecting the same answer (due to their previous conversation), he said, "Three miles from the walls…there will be a plane waiting for us."

Uchiha blinked in startled before a leering grin stretched over his whole mouth and he joyously sang out, "Well well, ain't _that_ a generous escapade you arranged us, beautiful. Say…did you change your mind because you're finally falling for my dashing charms? …So very deeply that you want to take me all the way to Hawaii?"

Clapping his teeth tight before they said something impertinent, Naruto chose to ignore the man's presence and dropped his head back onto his mattress he was leaning against. His cellmate was lying there as stiff as the floor Naruto was sitting on. "What are you so silent about, Shika?" getting no answer, Naruto looked over his shoulder at the quiet brunet, who was staring deeply into the photo of him and his girlfriend.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hm? Wh-what?"

Frowning at the sudden startle of the other's voice, Naruto wondered what's been on his cellmate's mind so deep that he hadn't paid a single ounce of attention to the main event. "I was just talking about the escape. Were you even listening to a word I said?"

"I umm…"

Whistling, Madara cackled loudly, "Well that's a first. Nara actually turned off his mind for once. And even at such an important matter too. I think it deserves a title in a book. What're ya looking at by the way?"

Stuffing his photo back into the pocket, Shikamaru glared at Madara as he made an attempt to take it away from him. "Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, Uchiha."

"Whoa-whoa! Why so aggressive?! Is there something secretive in that crumpled old 'parchment' of yours?"

"Fuck you!" standing up from the bed, Shikamaru abruptly exited the cell without another word.

"Touchy." Chuckling after him, Madara groaned when Naruto pushed him hard against his chest.

"We'll discuss the rest later," said Naruto, more to Itachi than the hissing Madara, and quickly walked off to catch up with the seemingly troubled man.

"Now what the hell did I say wrong?!" yelled Madara, glaring after the blond while rubbing his chest.

Rolling his eyes, Itachi didn't feel like staying in the man's presence any longer and silently exited the cell as well; though before he moved another step, he quickly caught Zetsu and Kisame's looks. The two bright-colored brawny men were staring at him from the other side of the tier; no doubt wondering what's the deal with him suddenly getting so 'acquainted' with Uchiha and Nara of all people. _'Nosy bastards.'_ Pocketing his hands, he went over to them.

…

"Shikamaru. Hey! Nara!" finally catching up with the striding 'slacker' who was already halfway out in the yard, Naruto grabbed his elbow.

Showing a bit of fury in his eyes, Shikamaru looked down at the hand keeping him still. "What?" he nearly barked.

"'What'? That's my question! What's the deal, man? What are you so uptight about?"

"Uptight? Who says I'm uptight." pulling Naruto's hand free from his own, Shikamaru continued walking onward.

"I am." Quickly grabbing Shikamaru's wrist, Naruto tried to pull him back but the man hastily wiggled his arm free. "Shikamaru!"

"What is it?!"

"Damn it, will you stop already!?" getting in Shikamaru's way, Naruto finally stopped him by placing his hands on broad shoulders. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Don't turn my question back at me, Nara!" frowning at him, Naruto couldn't understand what to make from the image the brunet was showing him. He was lacking too much in his words as while showing too much in his eyes. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"I said noth-…"

"STOP IT!" startling half of the other prisoners passing them by, Naruto evened the taller man's glare. "Stop telling me that! You think I can't see that everything's _not_ alright?"

Turning his head away, Shikamaru bit his lip in half exasperation and half tiredness. "It's nothing you should be worried about, Naruto."

"And still. I'm not leaving until you tell me what it is."

Turning away from the other inmates looking back at them, Shikamaru gazed at his persistent cellmate from the corner of his eye. _'Alright.'_ Grabbing the blond's thin wrist, he pulled him further away from the curious gangs.

Standing now next to the isolated tool shed, Naruto urged his fidgeting copartner to speak. "So? I'm waiting."

"It's…about my child."

Little alarm sounds quickly broke out as Naruto momentarily started predicting the worse, "What's wrong with it? Is your girlfriend sick? Is the child sick? Is that child not even yours? What's the-…"

Clapping the babbling mouth shut, Shikamaru shook his head with a small chuckle, "No no, nothing like that. It's just…hard. Know what I mean?"

"Ahh…ya _still_ can't get over it?" Receiving an awkward nod, Naruto wanted to chuckle at the other's restlessness. "We've already been through this, Shika. Stop worrying. I'm positive that you'll make a great father."

"But-…"

"No-No! No buts, Nara! You'll do alright, …despite yer screwed up background." Patting frowning Shikamaru on the shoulder with a bit of sarcasm in the last sentence, Naruto then chuckled with a relieved sigh, "Honestly. Is that all that's been troubling you?"

"Uhh…yes?"

Watching the brunet's reaction carefully, Naruto pursed his lips. "Pft! Jeez…, and here I thought it was something serious."

"It is _serious_. To _me_!" argued Shikamaru.

"Now now!" dropping his hand around the scolding man's shoulders, Naruto began steering him back towards the gang-pop. "Even though you're a bastard thief-… Remember! …-you'll still be a _loving_ bastard thief. And that's all that'll matter to your kid. Besides, a criminal for a father sounds kind a cool, don't ya think?"

"You do know that that doesn't help…_at all_."

"Well, I try."

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru still had to smile at his enthusiastically positive cellmate.

…

17:19

Leaning against the inner bars of his cell, Itachi frowned at his gathered gang – all staring right back at him: some with decency to look awkwardly uncomfortable, while the others had the guts to look unyieldingly insufferable.

Rubbing his nape uneasily, Kisame spoke for the entire group, seeing that none else dared to anyways. "We're not judging, man. We're just confused and curious as hell. Sure, I understand your intentions towards that-…" holding back the next words at Itachi's warning gaze, Kisame coughed and skipped that part, knowing well that Itachi never liked when his 'blond interest' was brought out in the conversation. So instead, Kisame decided to continue from the other end, "But to keep meeting Uchiha on daily basis? What business could you possibly have with _him_? Especially after you denied me his 'execution'?"

"Forget 'execution'." Grumbled Kakuzu, "Since when did you and the psychopath had _anything_ to discuss about?"

Setting his mouth in a thin line, Itachi's eyes darkened. They were getting out of line and control, not to mention step in unfamiliar waters.

Catching the sudden thickness in the air, Sasori stepped forward to ease their leader before he snapped and murdered them all. "Itachi," speaking in silent, yet demanding voice, he looked Susanoo straight in the eyes, "Just tell us what's going on."

"And for the record. We know it has nothing to do with anything regarding money, games or…say, self pleasure, hm."

Clicking his tongue and easing his muscles, Itachi couldn't help but feel just as impressed as enraged by his gang's foreboding. It was all good when they snooped around…just not as good when it brought questions about him. "What do you expect me to say?"

"'That is none of your business!'" cheerfully proclaimed Tobi in an animated Susanoo's voice, which earned him a fist in the face from most of the gang.

Smirking in slight amusement, Itachi ran his eyes over each one of the impressive looking men he knew for the past eight years now and silently began weighting his options and chances. _'We're going to have a tight fit if they find out of your plan, little fish. However, I'm not sure just how tight it might get if they don't.'_ "I don't know if I should remind you that whatever deals with _me_, is truly of no concern to _you_." giving them a cold gaze, Itachi smirked when they all averted looking him in the eyes. "However, despite your abrupt 'curiosity', I feel like being honest for once." Pushing himself away from the bars, Itachi took a step closer to his clueless men, noticing how some of them tried not to flinch. "Madara Uchiha, as you all are aware, is an unstable mass murderer. Nothing ever slips pass him unnoticed; and when time comes and he catches sight of something _interesting_, he'll go into tremendous lengths to reach it. And here's where the problem that ties us together stands. He has set eyes towards _my_ 'interest'. So…in order to keep 'it' safe and away from greasy hands, I happen to be as close to Uchiha's proximity as I am now." Half lying half telling the truth, Itachi uncrossed his arms and placed them in his pockets, looking at Kisame in particular, "As for why I banned you the 'pleasure' of getting rid of him, Kisame. It's just something I decided to do on my own. After all, he and I had been on each other's throats before you all even entered this prison's grounds. You don't know him and his trickery as well as I do." Justifying himself through easy fabrications, Itachi cocked a slim eyebrow as the others fell in strong silence. "Is there anything _else_ unclear?"

Exchanging glances, everyone seemed sedated, more or less, except Kisame, Sasori, Kakuzu and Zetsu, who still dared regard their leader with unconvinced nods.

Frowning at them, and knowing fully well what everyone had in their minds, Itachi 'hn'-ed and exited his cell, leaving his group with a pressuring unclearness and deep suspicion.

'_This is not going to end well.'_ not looking behind himself, Itachi could feel their eyes boring into his back even as he descended the stairs.

Meeting Naruto and Nara on the way out, Itachi nodded to the smiling blond's greeting before whispering in a tight voice, "There something we need to talk about."

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Not much of a chp here, but I had to 'plant in' the plans of the escape and add details that might further result into a slight disorder in the escape;)_

_Thank ya very much to:_ Conflicted Soul, itachisgurl93, -siarafaerie-101-miss, saya420, She who quacks alot, hn'ned, The Winggoddess, narubby23, lulubeck, Savagehunger47, OfeliaWolf, Stoic-Genius, Felnore, LucifersBloodyDarkAngel, brokenfromthepast, Your Fuckin' Perfect To Me & ValsWinter!XDD

_Replies:  
_Your Fuckin' Perfect To Me – thank ya! & indeed: you're welcome!:D  
Ya need not worry about Naruto & Shikamaru's relationship. With everything they've done & went through together, it's safe to say that yeah, their friendship will last long, be it as friends or 'cell' brothers even (though nothing more unfortunately);))

The Winggoddess – yep, I guess they're 'pretty' close to that;))

Conflicted Soul – thank ya so-so much as always;)) Umm, nope, Sasuke & Itachi are not brothers here & don't know each other as well.  
Sasuke…hmm, he could be gay…perhaps, but I'm not too sureXP, 'cause I'm not planning on bringing him out in this story too much, so…no ideaXD  
Anyways, the escape is coming soonXD, maybe not all too soon but…ya know;))  
I'm trying not to make this into a long story, even though it's difficult, because I don't know how to write short & clearXDD, sorry…. & plus, there are still lots of things that need to be done before the breakout. Like Itachi & Naruto's prison-_fun_ maybe?…;DD  
Ok, we'll see…:))


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 17**_

* * *

17:49

Sitting on the set of benches a step higher than his two companions, Naruto stared at Itachi with watchful caution. After hearing out of what Itachi told about his gang's growing wariness, Naruto began to doubt if the man was really trying to warn them or indirectly tell him that his planning on taking his friends along with them. "What did you tell them?"

"Nothing that should raise unnecessary suspicion… however, I know them well enough to say that that will not stop them from searching about."

"I thought you just said that you didn't tell them anything suspicious," Naruto marked out, furrowing his brows deeper.

"I didn't. But that still doesn't mean that they will subdue their curiosity. Because that's just how they are. No matter what I tell them they'll go out of their way to make sure everything's fine on their own." Itachi simply shrugged, "They're stubbornly persistent when they want to be, yet can be just as loyal."

Blowing out a drug from his cigarette, Shikamaru frowned at the 'raven's' last words. It sounded as if he was already assuring them that if his thugs were to suddenly find out of their escape, then there won't be any problems caused by them, if they were to participate that is. "Are you trying to make us agree upon dragging them into this escape?"

Itachi's lips twitched a bit, "I didn't say that."

"There's no need for words. I can see right through you." growled Shikamaru, tapping the ash off his cigarette.

Scowling at Susanoo's back, Naruto silently said, "Itachi. Whatever feelings you harbor for your friends, don't forget that the bigger a crowd we are to tag along the less time and more risk it'll take for us all to escape over the wall. 19minutes, remember?"

Sighing, Itachi leant on his elbows, "I know, little fish. That's why I came to you two. I don't know if you could call it a request or a warning, but I want you to consider this situation before it turns into a deep problem. Their doubts are growing rapidly. The more excuses I make, the more suspicious they get, in view of that I never had the need to use such things before."

"But you're their leader. Can't you settle them somehow?"

Chuckling lightly, Itachi shook his head, "Leader huh… No little fish, our relation does not work under the status of our ranks. Yes, when it comes to prison, our relationship might stand like supreme-to-inferior, seeing as from the start of their arrival I became their…protector so to speak, and later was proclaimed the leader of the pack. However, when it comes to problems concerning our circle, it becomes a personal issue between equals and no social status can help there. They will not rest as easy."

'_Then maybe we'll just have to further the breakout before they find out.'_ "Che. What a load of baldercrap!" filled with irritation and new difficulties, Naruto buried his hands into his hair. _'Yeah…and how on earth am I supposed to further this escape any faster if I still need to come up with the right time to get Itachi and Madara into our cell without getting seen by cops or from this point on – Susanoo's thugs too?_' With new people getting involved in the escape, new problems arose just as likely. And to have Itachi's group keep a constant watch on them will not help solving his problems. As he calculated, Naruto had no doubt that if they were to escape before the nighttime and the closing of all gates (which is their best time now that he has two other people coming with), not only will he need to make it in time to get them into the infirmary before the start of a countdown, but he'll also have to make sure to get Itachi and Madara into his cell without anyone _unnecessary_ seeing them. _'GHA! Why is everything so damn difficult? Screw this! It's entire Itachi and Madara's fault!'_

"I won't hide the fact that I partly want them to come with us." admitted Itachi, "Seven more people aren't nearly that much anyway. But if it's not to happen I won't complain either."

Huffing, Shikamaru crossed his legs, "Not too much? 'Hmph'! Then why not simply go ahead and invite the whole freaking prison on this escape? Why? Because aren't we just one big _happy family_ here?"

"Why…maybe we should then," teasingly taunted Itachi.

"Good. Let's go then."

"Lead the way."

"God! Will you two shut up already! This isn't even funny!" snapped Naruto, making the two elder men looked away from each other. "Can't you see that I'm already a nervous wreck here, do you want me to fucking break too!" _'Jesus! Soon I'm going to go metal with the bastard-ness that's surrounding me! And…!'_ "Why the hell are you two smirking?" he yelled, seeing the other two try and hold their amusement at bay.

Secretly entertained by one frustrated blond rating and yelling at them, both Itachi and Shikamaru suddenly found the grass incredibly interesting.

'_The hell with it! Why can't I simply leave them and get the fuck out of here myself?'_ groaning, Naruto dropped his head behind his shoulders. _'Where is a gun when you need one?'_

Flicking the butt of his cigarette away, Shikamaru finally decided to break the silence and turned to face Naruto, "So what comes now?" he asked, drawing attention from Itachi as well.

Rubbing the junction between his shoulder and neck, Naruto heaved a tired sigh, "Nothing."

"Hai?"

"We go on as we have before. Tell no-one of the escape and try not to make it too obvious. If Itachi's group manages to find out of this before we escape, it's most likely that we'll have no choice but take them with, _but_ that doesn't mean we'll be oncoming in any other way. Right now, four-man cell is our final count, no more add-ons."

Sinking in thoughts, Itachi glanced towards the direction of his laughing gang. _'So he chose to take the risk.'_

…

01:00

Sliding down the slippery skew tunnel, Naruto jumped into the drainage area and un-tucked the extra sheets he brought along with him. _'With capacity and speed of the sewer water flow, this room might be filled in two or three days. Which means: before the water hits the ceiling, we'll have to make our escape. Otherwise, it'll start to overfill the prison.'_

In order for them to reach the six meter high grating (- hovering in the ceiling and connecting them to the utility room), Naruto will have to overflow the drainage area with water as soon as it reaches the ceiling; which will prove to be a risky decision that'll rely entirely on time, because the water will flow non-stop.

Balling the white sheets, Naruto stuffed them into the centered waterspout, plugging the outgoing pipe, and watched as it slowly began filling the room's floor with water. Setting the time on Nara's watch, Naruto climbed back out. Right now, it'll just be a small test-run in order to make sure how long it takes for the water to overfill the room.

…

20:07

Walking pass different races of inmates with a slight limp in his step accompanied by a nerve giving flinch, Kabuto Yakushi finally returned back to the gang-population.

"Wee-heh-hell! Look who finally joined the circus!" jumping from the stairs he was sitting on while having a conversation with his 'lackeys', Madara skipped in front of the grey-haired man, minding the physical and mental wreck he was turned into. "Damn man, what happened to yer eye?" grabbing the eyepatch covering Kabuto's left eye, where the right one looked slightly red and 'dismantled' yet still better than the covered (luckily for the man, the doctors managed to save it), Madara pulled it back before letting it go, laughing with the rest of his men as it smack back against cringing Kabuto's skin.

"Don't… Please Madara…not now. I just got back from the med camp." Covering his stinging eye (or where it used to be), Kabuto outstretched his hand forward as a sign of protection.

"Aww…you poor baby. Did you have a little accident while I was absent?"

Although gotten teased and made fun of in front of other inmates, Kabuto suddenly felt a hopeful luck spark in the name of 'Madara Uchiha'. If played right, he might actually get the dangerous raper help him pay back to those responsible for sending him into near-coma, among other things. After all, the man was known for his madness and psychotic way in experiencing pleasure through blood; he should be thrilled.

"Yes. In fact, I think that this new information will interest you the very most, Madara."

"Ohh…" interest sparked, Madara grinned, "I'm all attention."

From the corner of his safe eye, Kabuto quickly caught sight of Orochimaru leaning by their cell; he probably heard his voice and came out for inspection. Feeling no intimidation aside the deep anger at his very lord who set him up and threw him into the murderous hands of Susanoo and Nara on free whim, Kabuto scored a wide devious smirk and stepped towards Madara without breaking eye contact with the yellow-eyed man, just to enjoy the tease and hopefully get a reaction from the heartless 'snake'.

"I assume you've already been associated with the new bait in our den?" he asked, or rather purred, as he came closer to the curious Uchiha.

"Who might that be?"

Smirking, Kabuto skipped a quick look towards his frowning lord before whispering into dark-hair's ear with an edged sneer, "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ahh…" Recognition clicked immediately and Madara's lips grew into a feral grin, much to Kabuto's delight, who was thinking that the brat already had an 'unfortunate' encounter with the man.

"I see your reputation's as impressively invincible as ever." praised Kabuto, knowing that nothing ever skipped past Madara's eyes.

Dropping his grin, Madara carefully looked Kabuto up and down, already guessing where the blond's involvement into the subject was coming from, "Was he the one who did this to you?"

'_No…not really.'_ "Yes." partly lied Kabuto, making Madara's eyebrows arch up in surprise. "And now I want to give my vengeance back." darkly proclaimed the one-eyed man, "I want him dead."

"Such loud words, Yakushi," chuckled Madara in mocking impression. "And? What do you want from me?"

Pleased by the question, Kabuto's sneer turned sadistic, "I'm asking you if you're willing to participate?" Madara could not turn such an opportunity down, Kabuto just knew that he couldn't, the man lived from others' misery.

"Mmm…tempting offer," rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner, Madara cocked his head to the side in consideration. "Very tempting offer indeed. Alas…there's just this one – tiny – insignificant – problem."

"P-problem," furrowing his brows, Kabuto gave a slight chuck, feeling disturbingly confused. "What tiny problem?"

Licking his lips, Madara gave an indifferent shrug. "You see that boy and I…are sort a…_buddies_ now."

Kabuto's world crumbled in loud shatter. "Wh-wh…wh-at?" _'Is this a joke?'_

"Yeah, it happens in places like this. You know: the cages, bunk beds, handcuffs, male bondage…well ya know how it works." Spreading his hands in a wide shrug, Madara grinned. "What's a man to do? But hey! Don't ya worry now, okay? For _you_…just for you…I'll make sure to keep him in _close_ check, so 'e won't do ya any harm. Alright?" smacking Kabuto on his bad arm, Madara chuckled as the other gave a slight grunt in pain and turned back to his gang. "Alrighty my boys. Now what were we discussing again?"

Kabuto could not believe this. Only two months had passed and that Uzumaki brat, who was supposed to be _dead_, had already grabbed rein on half of the entire prison's 'empire'. _'No way! There's just NO WAY!'_ gritting his teeth in anger, Kabuto suddenly felt something smack and bounce against his forehead and he looked down on a paper-made plane. Glaring up at the one who dared throw something at him, Kabuto's eyes quickly widened when he saw the exact person who's been filling his mind for the past hour.

The Uzumaki brat was leaning against the railings of his tier and calmly staring down at him with a slyly spreading smirk on his perfect features. "Yo, Cyclops."

Something about that look sudden overwhelmed Yakushi with fear and his arms began shaking. _'No! He won't intimidate me! …He WON'T! I'm NOT afraid of HIM!'_ Clenching his hurting fists tightly, Kabuto was just about to retort something back but caught the blond turn his eyes on the small piece of paper he previously threw at him, and out of curiosity followed the gaze. Knitting his eye, Kabuto saw something written there in black ink:

'_I'm coming for you, Yakushi.'_

Something in those words suddenly made Kabuto feel even more scared than he was already. _'NO! Not afraid! I'm not!'_ Giving the blond a heated sneer, Kabuto gathered enough strength in his numb feet and quickly marched away.

…

Watching Kabuto almost run away from his sight, Naruto couldn't help the light chuckle, feeling slightly sadistic.

"I see you're enjoying yourself."

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto looked towards the approaching 'raven', "Haven't had much time to do it lately."

"So I've guessed." leaning his back against the metallic railings next to the blond, Itachi looked into the cell before him and saw Shikamaru lounging there in complete silence. "What's wrong with him?"

"Do you really care to know?"

Clicking his tongue, Itachi pursed his lips. "No."

"Then I won't tell you."

Smirking at the smug reply, Itachi didn't miss the little smile that Naruto wore. For the past few days it became more than apparent that the blond had became more relaxed and opened to him than once before. It was pleasant, thought Itachi; no feeling of accomplishment or victory was even mentioned over the matter.

Dropping his gaze over thin wrists lying motionless over metallic posts, Itachi reached out and took one of Naruto's hands into his own.

Startled at first from the abrupt contact, Naruto then quickly calmed down when he saw Itachi just examining his hand. A bit amused, Naruto arched a brow in question as to what the man was doing.

"You have slim fingers." said Itachi, gently flexing and bending Naruto's fore- and middle- finger. "Such perfect structure of a hand could only belong to a model. But that would make me wonder how could a model get in such a place as Konoha Prison? Maybe it was because of the competition standing in your way?" he offered jokingly.

Giving a loud laugh, Naruto shook his head, "Me? A model? Well even if I _was_ one and the agency were to replace me with some second-rate bitch in a cocktail dress, then what's a 'boy' to do than to use his talented fingers and 'break some bones'?"

"Mmm…then these here must be some nasty little digits."

Chuckling at each other's side of jokes and sarcasm, Naruto and Itachi both looked back at their intertwined hands.

Tightening his fingers over Naruto's soft skin, Itachi asked straight, "But seriously… What have you done to be confined in a place like this, little fish?"

"Naruto."

"Pardon?"

Shaking his head, Naruto corrected him. "When will you stop calling me 'little fish'? Honestly, that's just getting on my last nerves."

Smiling, Itachi turned Naruto's hand over to look at the small blue veins visible there. "Do you want to know why I call you that?"

"Why?" whispered Naruto, hating the shiver than went down his spine when Susanoo ran his one finger over the blue line.

"Because I like the thought of you being free and untamed; not taken or claimed. Even though I know you're with Nara…"

"Shikamaru? Oh no, Itachi. We're not-…" quickly biting his tongue, Naruto shut his mouth up before it blabbered out everything and hastily looked away as Itachi's brows slightly furrowed in curiosity at those slipped words. _'Fucking shit! What a hell you doing, Namikaze!'_

"You're not what?"

"Nothing!" he suddenly yelled nervously, "I…I mean…we're just…Shikamaru and I are roomies. And…and…" _'Fuck it! Stop stammering! What's gotten into you!'_ screaming reason at himself, Naruto gathered his scrambled thoughts and said in one breath, "Yes, we're roomies. And roomies get carried away. And…and well, damn it! That's none of your business actually!" Quickly looking away, Naruto wanted to hit himself. _'Stupid blush, get away from me! Dammit! Just a few days ago I wanted to have nothing to do with this man. Why does any justification suddenly feel so necessary for him? Idiot!'_

Catching a flush of pink on the blond's cheeks, Itachi closed his eyes and chuckled silently. "So that's how it is huh?"

"Wh-what is?"

"You're shy to admit such things, aren't you?"

"What? No that's not the poin-…well, that is…yeah, I guess I am." Sighing in slight relief, Naruto was glad Itachi actually mistook his frustration from a different perspective. _'Although why I suddenly feel annoyed by it is beyond me.'_ Shaking his head for good measures, Naruto reluctantly looked back at the other man watching him from the corner of his eye with that perfect smirk of his. "What?"

Shrugging, Itachi looked back at the cell in front of them, "We were talking about your imprisonment."

"Aa…we were, weren't we…."

"So what did you do?"

Crossing his arms, Naruto frowned, "I don't see why you're asking me this. For I'm more than sure you already gathered enough info on me as you could get."

"Hn." Itachi didn't deny it. "Well I had to keep us entertained somehow, didn't I?"

"Well then, why not share your part of the story?"

"Hm?"

"Tell me about yourself." Naruto nearly missed the way Susanoo's eyes darkened at his request before they returned to their previously unbreakable smirk.

Suddenly straightening up, Itachi pocketed his hands and bent down to be at eyelevel with the blinking blond. "Well that'll be a story for later, little fish." he wisely declared and went back to his gang as night began approaching.

Staring after him, Naruto grumbled an 'ass' comment and retreated to his cell.

…

09:38

Having squeezed the next set of chemical mixture into the drainage grate inside the infirmary, Naruto watched it eat the industrial pipe below the sink slowly but surely; soon the chemicals will break the metal wide enough for a human to fit through.

Now that he thought of that, it was very convenient that he got to have a free stride inside the infirmary building. With his condition (courtesy of Kabuto) he did not have to make false acting so as to get himself into the infirmary to finish the third part of his plan (first part being the breaking of the wall leading into the sewers; second – figure out how to get to the utility room through drainage area; third – create a route which will connect the utility room with infirmary; and fourth – break the grated window and get over the prison wall). _'Seems simple enough…I hope.'_

"Ok. So…are you ready, Mr. Uzumaki?" entering back into the room, Sakura handed Naruto the garments to change into while Hinata cleaned and prepared all the necessary working tools required for the removal of the stitches.

"Yes."

…

10:38

"Take it easy, ok?" smiled the doctor as she helped dazed Naruto through the door and into the reliable hands of the officers. "Make sure to get him back to his cell. He's not to leave until the drug stops taking its effect."

Nodding, officers Tenzou and Gai grabbed Naruto by his elbows and escorted him back to the first sector.

Dropping the used tools inside a disinfection vessel, Hinata regarded her friend. "You think it's okay to let him go back to prison? Maybe he should've spent the night here? It would've been quieter."

"He'll be fine," assured Sakura, scribing the last notice in Uzumaki's folder. "Anyways, we're not allowed to keep inmates here unless there's an exceptional case, you know that. And all Uzumaki needs is rest, so he's going to be okay back in his cell."

…

11:03

Pulling Naruto's shirt up, Shikamaru carefully lowered the bandages and looked over the nine inch long scar merging his cellmate's stomach, just a few millimeters above his navel. _'Damn Kabuto.'_

"How is he?" entering the cell, Neji, Kiba and Lee peered over kneeling Shikamaru's shoulder at the sleeping blond.

"Drugged." replied Nara with a small smile. "The doc instructed him to sleep it through. Otherwise he's fine and ok. He just needs a lot of rest. So let's get'."

Pouting, Suigetsu slumped against the bars next to silently staring Juugo. "What. Is there going to be no group molesting? Maa…and here I came full of hopes to take advantage of our little blon-…"

"Shut up and get the hell out!" smacking chuckling Suigetsu on the forehead, Shikamaru pushed him out of his cell with the rest of his laughing friends.

…

17:02

"Nnn…" grabbing his spinning head, Naruto slowly opened his eyes and tried to get up but flopped back down when his stomach gave a painful contraction and threatened to spill his inner contains out, even though there was nothing there. _'Tsk. For how much longer will this pain last?'_ He never would have guessed that taking out stitches would actually be such a painful procedure to overcome, but then again it was a deep wound. "Kusooo…" _'I need to-…'_

"Aww, you poor little _chibi_. Don't mind me saying this…but you look like shit."

Rolling his eyes towards the entrance, Naruto gave a rather dull glare at the blurry form of an unwanted person standing there. Naruto was still under the influence of drugs, thus making his whole body function in uncoordinated way with his nerves and brain. "What do you want, Uchiha?"

"No need to be so snappy." taking a quick peek towards the empty cellblock (it was dinner time, meaning all inmates were outside the sector), Madara smirked and went closer to the wary blond, "I just had this sudden urge to come and see how's my little…partner doing. Now isn't that nice of me?" he said, taking a seat on the side of the bed, making Naruto want to edge away.

"It would be nic_er_ if you left me alone now. I need rest," said Naruto, keeping his blurry eyes carefully on every move Madara made.

"Oh? Could it be that my presence's unnerving you?" placing his hand next to Naruto's head, Madara leant close to the unnerved blond and chuckled when he saw the boy try and dig himself deeper into the mattress. "Hm. I guess that's a yes."

"Madara. Get away from me." warned Naruto, pulling as much threat into his hoarse voice as he could.

"Now that's not a nice thing to say, my little muffin." teasingly berated the smirking Uchiha as he wiggled his finger, "Here I am all concerned for you, and you just push me away. I'm hurt."

"I don't trust you," admitted Naruto, trying to force his heavy hands to move as Madara's fingers began playing with the collar of his t-shirt.

"Ah…but there's always time for improvement." joyfully sang the elder and looked towards the pulled up shirt, showing a part of Naruto's freshly bandaged stomach. "You do know that we're here alone now, right?"

Naruto visibly paled as Madara snuck his hand under his shirt and ran it over his covered scar. Grabbing the man's wrist, Naruto tried to get it out, but the current numbness in his muscles could not do enough to stop the man from pressing his hand hard over Naruto's scar.

Letting out a pained gasp, Naruto felt his insides tighten in unbearable knots and he could distantly hear the sounds of gusto coming from Madara as he stared at Naruto's tantalizing expression.

"Seeing you lying here – all alone, helpless, vulnerable, …in pain – is just too arousing a sight to ignore." climbing into the bed, Madara grabbed Naruto's wrists and tightened his hold on them, "I just can't _not_ take the advantage." with a sick laugh, he pinned Naruto down.

"WH-What Are You DOING!" finding his voice, Naruto began yelling.

"Shush, little blond. Just don't fight it and all's gonna be alright. It'll hurt only for a little while…" securing Naruto's battling hands into his larger one and keeping them over the smaller male's head, Madara grabbed the hem of Naruto's white shirt and pulled it up, exposing as much skin as it allowed.

"Damn. You really are delectable," whistling in impression, Madara smirked and ran his fingers over the smooth tan skin revealed to his pleasure.

As much a struggle he pulled off, Naruto was just no match against the mad man, the drug was too strong on his system and his constantly flipping stomach was no help there.

"Do-don't Madara. Let me go…before I k-kill you…"

"Now-now, don't be silly. Just go along with it. I know you'll soon start enjoying this as much as I am," pulling out a knife from his pocket, Madara's grin became insane, "Because, don't we _all_ have a little bit of masochism in ourselves?"

Naruto's eyes grew wide. "No! Let go!" he screamed, trashing about.

"Ah-ah…" hooking the knife under Naruto's pants waistband, Madara had no difficulty to handle the boy's useless struggles as he began cutting the material loose. "I've waited too long for this opportunity to let you go now."

An abrupt wince was voiced as the sharp end of the blade cut over Naruto's hip.

"Whoops! Sorry 'bout that. Now where was I? Ah! I remember," sniggering in glee, Madara dropped the knife down and grabbed the torn fabric, though before he managed to pull it off completely, he gasped as he was suddenly flung off Naruto and crashed against the grid tier outside the cell. "What a fu-AHH!" Unable to even open his eyes, Madara was quickly forced against the cell bars and suddenly doubled over as a bone breaking punch was directed towards his lower stomach. Taste of blood could be distinguished gathering up in his throat.

"I told you before. Stay the fuck away from him!" hissed a cold voice of his attacker and not a second later he was punched to his chin so hard that his teeth cracked.

Dropping down as he was let go, Madara hooked his hands around the bars and tried to still his body from falling to his knees, "Wh-what a-are y-you t-talking about… I di-didn't do a-anyth-AHHHH!" a sudden stab to his shoulder forced out a loud scream throughout the whole sector as Madara's shoulder was pierced by a long piece of glass.

Fisting his hand into Madara's wild hair, Itachi forced the man's head back as he began turning the glass to the side, making the other tore out another scream from his throat. "STOP! I CAN'T TAKE IT!"

"Should've thought of it sooner." Jerking the blade out of the deeply bleeding shoulder, Itachi gripped Madara's hair tighter and hissed into his face. "Don't touch him again, Madara. Ever!"

Spitting his blood out, Uchiha opened his one eye and sneered back, "Or what?" he challenged, knowing well that there was nothing Itachi could threaten him with; he couldn't kill him, nor could he exclude him from the escape.

Not shaken by the other's bold confidence, Itachi's features changed into a sadistic smirk, "You sure you want to find out?"

Madara's eyes widened till their sockets and he nearly choked on his tongue as a hard punch was abruptly delivered hard between his legs and suddenly he felt himself falling down as Itachi flung him over the railings with laughable ease.

"GHA!" a loud gasp and gush of blood was forced out of him as his back met the hard floor of the cellblock. _'Damn it!'_ turning onto his side, Madara cursed everything he could as all sides of his body screamed in pain and he found himself unable to move. _'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Damn you fucker Susanoo!'_ squinting his eyes to the side, he could still see Itachi glaring at him from the second floor before he turned around and disappeared from view. _'Fuck it. Fuck it all!'_

"Maa-maa…what've you gotten yourself into now?"

Snapping his eyes back open, Madara looked up at bored-eyed officer Hatake staring down at him.

The sudden urge to take revenge upon them all overtook Madara and he was tempted enough to blow the secret of their escape right there. But an opportunity to finally get out of the prison was just too much of a precious thing to lose now, so he kept quiet. Besides, he could always pay them back later. "'Hmph'. Nothing you should butt into. Just take me to the doctor." he said to Kakashi, who glared at him but went to get another officer to help him carry the deadweight.

For Hatake it was never a surprise when he saw those two fighting. Just another affair he found no use meddling into and left it for them to handle. Anyways, the thought of dealing with those two was just too bothersome.

…

Entering the cell, Itachi met eyes with unsettled blue. Making sure there was no fear or hesitation directed at him, he took a seat by the side of the bed, not too close and not too far away from its occupant – as if assuring that he was not there to hurt him. "Are you ok?" he asked with a bit of concern showing in his voice.

Still trying to get reign on his breathing, thanks to the previous 'events', Naruto nodded, "Aa."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"N…no, that is…yes, just a bit," admitted Naruto, pulling the side of his pants down to show his hip.

Itachi's eyes narrowed at the red cut merging the skin. "I'll get the doctor." Moving to stand up, Itachi was vaguely surprised when he felt warm fingers suddenly curl around his wrist and he looked back down. Naruto's dim eyes were looking deep into his own; from one point they looked as if they were searching but from the other they just seemed unfocussed and confused.

After a few seconds Naruto finally realized what he was doing and quickly let Itachi's wrist go. "Ah…I'm sorry." he murmured, looking away in embarrassment which quickly draw amusement to Itachi's eyes.

'_He's so interesting.'_ "What is it, little fish?" he asked in a silent voice.

"Th-there's no need to call for the doc, really. I'm fine…and I just…I thought…that is…" _'Damn you, stop stammering already!'_ "…I don't… I…" lowering his eyes, Naruto set his mouth in a thin line, _'…I just don't want to be left alone right now.'_ Giving up on saying those, apparently, difficult words out loud, Naruto sighed and turned on his side, "It's nothing."

Blinking at him, Itachi supposed he pretty much knew what the blond wanted; he was just too ashamed to say it. _'Hn. Such a hopelessly selfless boy you are little fish.'_ he thought to himself and without pointing anything out or saying something that would further frustrate the shy blond, Itachi set back down and prompted his hands on the mattress, keeping the blond a safe company.

Rubbing his thumb over his hurting hip, Naruto skipped a secret glance at silent Itachi and couldn't help but marvel the calmly composed expression of the other's face: his eyes were closed, his features relaxed, and his lips, if he saw right, were smiling.

That smile seemed to abruptly grow as Itachi asked out of the blue, "What is it?"

Naruto flinched in startle; Itachi knew that he was staring. _'Fuck!'_ cursing, Naruto quickly turned his eyes away. And No! He did not just blush again! _'DAMN IT, whatever for?'_ "Maa…it's nothing."

"Is that so?"

Falling into another awkwardly long silence, Naruto quickly gathered his suddenly scattered courage and turned onto his back, "Umm…Itachi?"

Opening his eyes, the man cast him a questioning glance.

"Thank you."

Arching a brow, Itachi wanted to ask whatever for but the answer was clear enough. "You don't have to thank me, little fish. Madara is never safe to stay around with, especially alone."

"Still," pulling himself up, Naruto did not get far as a hand was placed on his chest and he was forced to lie back down.

"Don't get up." said Itachi in warning, "You'll make it worse on yourself."

"Tch." surprisingly for both, Naruto did not protest. "Fine."

Smiling slightly, Itachi reached out and ran his fingers gently through blond soft locks. He was cautious of the other's reaction and when he saw nothing but trust in those mystical eyes, Itachi couldn't help himself but lean down and lightly kiss Naruto on the forehead. "Try to rest. I'm not going anywhere."

Pulling away, Itachi's eyes widened when he felt Naruto's hand suddenly reach around his neck and bring him back down. Almost shyly, he placed his lips over parted Itachi's. Just a small peck but it was enough to leave Itachi stunned. "Thank you, Itachi," Naruto whispered before his eyes closed and he fell into unconscious slumber.

Still a bit dumbfound by the kiss, Itachi exhaled his held breath and felt himself give into a small smile. Even though a simple gratitude kiss, it, however, came from the blond willingly. Running the back of his hand gently over the scarred cheek, Itachi wondered however he came to be so protective of the boy. This sudden feeling that's been gathering up in him from the moment he became intrigued by the beautiful blond was turning into something unrecognizably pleasant and foreign… and yet it was warm. "What are you doing to me…Naruto."

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Many thanks ta:_ CHARbones, itachisgurl93, Savagehunger47, Niwasae, YamiPimpster, saya420, Narutopokefan, lulubeck, Conflicted Soul, chibi-neco, Hikari-Hikaru-Hikari, brokenfromthepast, narubby23, claudea, White-Tainted-Red, Suki1, Psychotic Sprite & sympatheticassassin! ;DD

_Replies:  
_Psychotic Sprite – yea, it's partly based on the PrisonBreak;D

Hikari-Hikaru-Hikari – thank ya - thank ya for the pleasant reviewXD Though, I'm very sorry, but I don't know the story yer looking for. But if I suddenly run into it, I'll notify ya:)

chibi-neco – thanx, & yeah, Kyuubi is pretty much hoping to do just that;)) & yes, Pain will have a spot-light again:D

Conflicted Soul – thank yee', hope yer doing better now:))  
Between both brothers, yeah, ya can say that Kyuubi is the bad oneXDD

YamiPimpster – huge thanx to all yer reviews & those for the other stories as well!XD Thank ya very much!;DD

Niwasae – yep…the group really _might_ get bigger;))


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 18**_

* * *

13:24

"As soon as I make sure of the time it takes the water to fully fill the room, I'll have the exact date of the escape. From that point on, our only problem will be to figure out how to break the infirmary gratings." Once more in his cell, Naruto lay down the finishing steps of their plan.

"When will you be going back inside the bowels?" asked Itachi, facing the sitting blond on the bed as he himself leaned next to the sink.

"Tonight."

"About time we start getting somewhere." turning their looks towards the bars, Naruto, Itachi and Shikamaru all glared at the frowning, not too comfortably looking Uchiha.

It's been over two days since the little run-in of the trio, which consisted of one blond and two 'ravens'. After two nights spent in the infirmary, Madara was all too soon back on his feet, although with too many still aching parts to go by.

Leering down at the young inmate, Madara's sly confidence for a poke fun boosted up by each heated dagger the other seemed to want to shoot his way. "Such a serious face you have there, apple-pie. What? Couldn't take a _joke_?" he sniggered, recalling the still probably sore spot in the blond's memory for what he nearly did to him; that was such an advantageous fuck that went 'inconveniently' wrong.

Clenching his hands, Naruto suddenly stood up and marched straight towards the proud Uchiha. And with no sense of hesitation, he punched that black-haired man's smirk off his face as hard as he could.

Madara barely gained his foothold as a balled fist suddenly collided hard and fast against his right cheek. Even though right-handed, Itachi and Shikamaru quickly noted that the blond possessed one heck of a left hook.

"Don't ever touch me again," warned Naruto as he glared menacingly at the slightly shocked Uchiha, "Unless you're willing to spend the rest of your hours in a burning pit."

'_Cocky brat.'_ Placing a hand against his swelling cheek, Madara grunted under his breath, "I'd be careful if I were you. I don't think we'd want anything ta happen to yer pretty body now would we?"

"Same goes for you." unabashed sneered Naruto, before he turned back to explaining the rest of the situation behind their plan.

Brushing his lips from the slow trickle of a blood beginning to spill out, the dark-haired man grit his teeth as he started at the blond, but dared not make a move, too much was to his disadvantage right now – Susanoo and Nara included.

'_But all that can be mended.'_

…

03:01

With all of his clothes stripped off and left inside the draining pipe, Naruto shivered at the cold sewer water hitting against his bared skin as he took a deep inhale and dived into the icy water filling the drainage area. Swimming upward to the grating, Naruto stuck his head above water and looked up. The water had already reached half a meter below the ceiling, which was just enough for his hand to reach.

"Good." Holding himself above water with the help of the grating, Naruto gripped the small grindstone he brought with (that thing cost him – or say Shikamaru – the loss of three packs of cigarettes), and began grating the gratings. As soon as they were loosened enough to break with a simple jerk, Naruto dived back in and swam till the very bottom, where he then unplugged the waterspout and got out.

Looking at the watch, Naruto calculated the time it took for the sewer water to fill the room. "That sums up to roughly 74hours."

And with that thought, the second part of the escaping plan was completed.

…

08:25

"OIII TOBIII! GET BACK HERE WITH MY PANTS RIGHT NOW, HM!"

"HAHAHAHAH! DEIDARA-SEMPAI IS RUNNING AFTER ME NAKED. IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE!"

Jumping at the sudden shout passing their cell, Naruto groaned and heard an equally annoyed groan from his tired cellmate.

"Bloody ha'f past nine in the fuckin' mornin'. Where the hell does he get all that adrenalin so freakin' early?" grunting into his pillow at Tobi's uncontrollable stamina, Shikamaru sighed as he heard officer Gai come yelling next – shouting his morning greetings while making a stop by their cell to make sure Nara's not lazing around in there.

Sniffing lightly, Naruto rubbed his red eyes and slowly changed into his clothes, all the while giving a silent sneeze.

"You catchin' a cold?" looking at his pale cellmate, Shikamaru pulled his nightshirt over his head.

"Nah man, just a light dust in the eyes."

"Hm."

"I'm headin' for showers."

"Wait up. I'm going too."

…

08:42

A bit worried for his blond friend, Shikamaru glimpsed over his shoulder and frowned when he saw Naruto give uncontrollable shudders as he stood under the running water.

"Naruto? You ok there?"

"Fine," came the hoarse answer to his concern.

"You can tell me that when you don't sound like a drunk." Turning his shower off, Shikamaru tied a towel around his waist and grabbed another one as he approached the wheezing man.

"I said I'm fine. I don't need ya babysitting me."

"Yea, of course you don't," scoffed Shikamaru as he reached pass Naruto's shaking shoulders and turned off the cold water. "Come on." Dropping the towel around him, Nara led him out, just as Itachi entered the stalls.

The tall man's eyes momentarily shot towards Naruto's unhealthy look, "What's wrong?"

"Naruto's got a light fever. So I'm taking him to the doc."

"Fever? Where did he manage to get it at such a time?" frowning in both concern and puzzlement – taking into account that it was the middle of the summer –, Itachi pressed his palm against lightheaded Naruto's burning forehead while his eyes went to Shikamaru who simply shrugged in response,

"How should I know? Maybe it has something to do with his last night's occasional trip to the sewers. He came back all wet."

"Tsk! Stop bein' a worrywart. I feel great." shrugging Shikamaru's hands off, Naruto stumbled past Itachi before suddenly losing the feel in his legs and collapsing under unconsciousness.

Catching him before he met the floor, Itachi sighed and hoisted the stubborn blond into his arms. "Let's go." he nodded to Shikamaru and headed for the infirmary.

…

09:12

Looking up from her work, Sakura breathed out deeply when she saw familiar faces enter her office for the umpteen times already. "What is it now?"

"Maa…" opening his mouth, Shikamaru suddenly cut himself midsentence when he saw officer Tenzou suddenly approaching and turn to Itachi in particular.

"Susanoo, there's a visitor waiting for you."

Itachi's eyebrows slight shot up. Even Shikamaru was a bit surprised, knowing all too well that Susanoo hadn't had a visitor for the past two years already. His first thought was quick to suspect that Itachi was planning on something concerning the escape (same as Madara), but by the looks of it, the 'raven' was just as surprised by the abrupt visit that he couldn't tell anymore.

"Who is it?" asked Itachi.

Narrowing his eyes lightly, Tenzou skipped a somewhat thoughtful glimpse towards unconscious Naruto before shaking his head and replying, "He said he's an acquaintance."

…

09:25

Following the officer, Itachi's interest deepened further when they passed the visiting hall and went to the secluded visiting rooms.

"You have an hour at your disposal." informed Tenzou, reaching for the closed doors.

Itachi was frowning by now; he still had no idea why he was asked to be brought to a place which was meant for couples only. As far as he remembered he was a free man, with no relationship connecting him from outside or inside. For a quick moment he thought that maybe Kisame was trying to play another of his stupid jokes on him by calling in a stripper… But last time when that happened, it didn't go all that well, nor for the stripper, nor for poor Kisame. And he was sure Kisame learned his lesson then…yet it seemed that not thoroughly.

Stepping into the room, Itachi narrowed his eyes as he saw a figure standing by the window with its back towards him. Due to the sunlight, he could hardly distinguish the figures outline; but one thing surely was quick to catch his eyes – long red hair.

Turning to face the awaited comer, as the doors closed shut, the man opened his purple eyes. "Susanoo Itachi. _Pleasure_ to meet you in person."

Itachi was surprised, in front of him was the elder lookalike of Naruto himself. If he ignored the difference in eyes and hair, he saw the exact duplicate of the blond. _'I never thought he had a twin.'_ Straightening in his posture and dropping his astonishment aside, Itachi's mask went back on. He didn't have to wonder how the man knew his name or surname, the fact that he was included in the escape that wasn't supposed to involve him in any way explained the necessity of the info gathering. _'Hm. They sure work quick.'_

"And to whom do _I_ own my pleasure to come face to face with Naruto's own brother?"

Furrowing his brows, Kyuubi turned his head slightly to the side, never leaving his eyes from the dark shaded red. "That isn't important now."

"Oh? Then what may I ask sustains the purpose of this sudden visit?" _'And inside the private room none the less?'_

"Just a tad shot at warning." A clear hint of a threat was quick to display itself as the redheaded man showed no said warning in his voice.

"…" Itachi blinked confused.

Running his eyes up and down Itachi's body, Kyuubi snarled at Naruto's choice in men; not at all sure what his younger brother saw in him. "I can't help but notice that my brother had gained a certain degree of interest towards you." _'Even though he's clueless of it himself, it can be clearly told by the way he speaks of this man.'_ Sinking his right hand inside his pocket, Kyuubi stretched out a humorless smirk, "He is a pretty boy, isn't he?" _'And gullible enough to be taken advantage of.'_

Finally understanding where all this was heading, Itachi bit his tongue from shooting back any smart comeback remarks. For what he could tell, the redheaded man was already aware of his desire for the certain blond (although _how_ it was still a mystery); and try and hide it now would definitely go wrong on his behalf, especially if he's to prove himself worthy to Naruto's family.

Now as he stood before the redhead – practically feeling the other's hatred pour out in waves as it itched to tie itself around his neck –, Itachi knew that whatever he's to say might be his last chance of gained approval. "I'm not aiming to hurt Naruto." instead of an answer he quenched the yet clearly unstated threat. "Such thought haven't even crossed my mind."

"And yet you just said it out loud." marked Kyuubi, knowing that he was ruffling the man up. "It's a sad thing when one says what he doesn't think."

"Yes. Considering the fact that that's what you wanted me to say," equally retorted Itachi, deciding to screw the formality and make even grounds on both their sides, seeing that the redhead didn't even want to take his words kindly anyway. Besides, Itachi wasn't always known for his patients, especially when he was threatened.

Narrowing his eyes into slits, Kyuubi run his tongue behind his teeth. "Then am I to assume that what you stated previously was but a dirty lie?"

"Iie… it wasn't."

Catching the way Itachi's eyes flickered for a few milliseconds, Kyuubi arched a brow when he caught the man's lips twitch into a small smile. "Naruto is special."

"You don't know him." Kyuubi mentally sneered at the use of such cheap words.

"Perhaps." shrugged Itachi, "But although I know him just a little, I can't help it when I want to be close."

"If you're trying to make me feel sympathetic towards this absurd bullshit of yours, you can forget it. I've already heard enough of such junk…"

"It's not!" suddenly snapped Itachi, taking Kyuubi aback by his abrupt emotional outburst, which Itachi himself was rather surprised uttering. "I'm not wasting my words just to draw out _your_ trust. I don't _need_ it."

Kyuubi was a bit surprised, never before had Naruto's past so-called 'suitors' made such bold contradictions towards him. None ever dared.

"I know what Naruto longs for; and frankly he is no different from me in that field. All that I'm doing with him I'm doing without ill intentions. I know I'm a criminal and I know the image we uphold, but that has nothing to do with any of my intentions towards Naruto. I would never hurt him. I…" at this point Itachi's own eyes widened and he cut his next words as they rang loudly in his mind. Swallowing thickly, Itachi cleared his suddenly dried out voice before looking straight into the redhead's purple eyes, "I like him."

Thick silence dropped on them both after those words as they just stood in the middle of the room while trying to out-glare one another.

Itachi never would have thought that his feelings could shoot out this high at such a small point. And not only that but for the first time, in so long, he could actually feel the not only deep sense of warmth and relief after his confession but also the feeling of pure intimidation from the redhead in front of him. It was beyond outrageous that such a man could make him feel fright (even if only a little), …then again it wasn't just a man – it was Naruto's brother.

"I'll make it clear to you right now." suddenly said Kyuubi in his deep voice, "I don't _like_ you."

Itachi's glare couldn't get any harder but when he saw a slight twitch up the redhead's lips, he got perplexed.

"However… you're the first person I don't actually _hate_ either."

Feeling their tension drop to some degree, Itachi was ready to relax but the silent clicking sound vandalized that image and Itachi's eyes widened in shock. _'How the hell did he get _that_ inside the _prison_?'_

"But don't let it flatter into your head." The redhead stood unwavering as he held a gun pointed towards Itachi's head. "I have more than one bullet in-stored for your head if you slip. And it'll take just _one_ to make ten holes in yer body." Setting his lips in a thin line, Kyuubi lowered his gun towards Susanoo's chest and whispered with a light sense of remorse, "Don't give me a reason to take that shot."

"I won't."

"I'll hope so." Pulling his gun away, Kyuubi walked past Itachi but stopped just behind him. "Oh, and for the record: I'm not the only one I would suggest you to keep an eye out for. That is, if you'll survive till meeting _him_. And remember, Naruto himself is not as easy to forgive or forget. So if something bad is to happen, I might not even be the first one to get to you."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"'Hmph'." with that said, Kyuubi left.

Watching the redhead go from the apex of his vision, Itachi couldn't help but give a light chuckle. It seemed that, in a bizarre sort a way, Itachi could almost call it like Naruto's older brother's acceptance of him. _'I guess I can only wonder how the rest of your family is like, little fish.'_

…

10:19

Walking towards the infirmary, Itachi quickly spotted Shikamaru smocking near the exit while having a casual conversation with officer Hatake Kakashi. Actually, now that he thought of it, Naruto's brother haven't even mentioned anything regarding Shikamaru while stating his 'approval' of him; and the 'slacker' was Naruto's boyfriend. So did it mean that the redhead had no idea that his younger brother already had an affair with his cellmate, or did it mean that he was literally approving him over Shikamaru without Naruto's consent? But that then made him wonder if Nara's been interrogated the same as him? Had Nara even meet with the redhead before? Or could it be that there actually was no relationship between Naruto and Shikamaru?

Confused as hell, Itachi curled his lips in anger and whistled, calling Nara and Hatake to attention. "Nara. Come here."

Frowning at Susanoo's edgy voice, Shikamaru put out his cigarette and walked over. "What do you want?"

"A word." heading for the courtyard, Itachi beckoned him to take a little walk with him. All the while, he wondered with what to begin – whether he should drag Nara to the nearest corner and beat him up, or hear out an explanation first and then beat him up?

Deciding to go along with the last thought, Itachi began, "Tell me the truth. Why are you and Naruto together?"

Halting in his steps, Shikamaru looked at Itachi weirdly. "Sorry? What kind of a question is that?"

"You know what I'm talking about." crossing his arms, Itachi faced the other inmate, "Tell me why were you two pretending to be together?"

Surprise could be clearly seen in Shikamaru's eyes until it was replaced by a small frown. "We're not pretending, Susanoo." Not too sure where Itachi suddenly figured out the truth about them, Shikamaru refused to let his inner panic get the better hand in case it was a trick and continued playing it safe. "Who gave you the idea anyway?"

"I pretty much figured it out myself." Itachi himself was no different in the field since he lied too. Frankly, he had no idea if Shikamaru and Naruto were really together or not. He was just confused after Naruto's brother's strange visit. And Susanoo's and Nara's constant annoyance and rivalry towards each other was not making it easier for his awareness. All in all, that obscurity pissed him off to no end.

"Oh? And how?"

"Have you met with the little fish's brother?"

"You mean the redhead? Was he the one who came to visit you this morning?" a bit shocked by the news, Shikamaru wondered why would Naruto's brother came all the way here to meet with Susanoo. Could it be that the redhead told Itachi something about Naruto and him? Was his little game in 'jeopardy' now? _'That could explain Itachi's sudden reaction then.'_

'_So then he did meet with him before.'_ Itachi didn't expect that. _'What does it mean then? Is Naruto's brother testing us both? What the hell is going on?'_ "Aa…" Although still at a loss by the whole damned ordeal Itachi refused to let go of his started lie. Besides, ruffling Shikamaru up was somewhat fun. "…And he said something interesting to me."

"Like what?"

"Like there's no Nara as Naruto's boyfriend."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. _'Well that was an unexpected turn.'_ "Did he really?"

"Mind explaining it to me: why is it so?"

Glaring at the sly raven-haired inmate, Shikamaru huffed. _'He's lying. There's no way that redhead would tell him something like that. He's not that kind of a man. But then again…what would I know?'_ Anyhow, not one to give Susanoo the upper hand in anything, Shikamaru (just like Itachi) took the risk and continued to play on without fearing the outcome. "I don't believe you. Because the last time _I_ met with Naruto's brother, he told me something completely different."

The winner face fell; Itachi was pretty sure Shikamaru would spill the beans then but it seemed that so far the 'slacker' wasn't lying in anything. Yet for some reason Itachi just couldn't bring himself to believe that. _'Damn your persistence Nara. Stop prating around and tell me what you're hiding!'_ "What did he tell you?"

Now more confident than ever by Itachi's own slip of confidence, Shikamaru pocketed his hands and shot his nose up daringly. "Why should I tell _you_?"

"If not, then I'll just stick to principles and assume all that you said to me is but a poor lie."

Shikamaru grumbled while the other sported a smug smirk. Unfortunately, what he and the redhead discussed had nothing to do with his and Naruto's bondage, which he was sure Itachi would be implicitly happy to hear. But that didn't mean that Shikamaru would go on telling him that, …on the contrary: "He approved me as Naruto's boyfriend." proudly answered Shikamaru, all the while lying like a bastard.

As for Itachi – he looked ready to kill him on the spot.

…

10:34

Entering Nara's cell with a slight limp in his steps, Madara scowled when he saw the usual presence lacking there. "Tch. Where are they? Those brats better not be trying to hide things from me again." Deciding to wait for them in the cell – not too comfortable to walk freely around for a moment anyways (not after what Susanoo did to him) – Madara came to stand next to the sink and curiously pushed it to the side, revealing a little gap of the hole behind it. "Ahh…So close to freedom."

"But not nearly close enough." suddenly grunted a deep voice from behind him.

Madara's whole body froze and slowly he looked into the mirror handing awry over the sink. Kakuzu, Hidan, Kisame and Zetsu were looming by the entrance – the four brawny men from Susanoo's gang none ever wished to have on their tail.

"What 'ch doing there Uchiha?" inquisitively asked Kisame as he entered the cell.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Huge thanx to:_ saya420, YamiPimpster, itachisgurl93, wishing-conscious, She who quacks alot, lulubeck, Suki1, LucifersBloodyDarkAngel, ZeniaFlower, claudea, narubby23, Savagehunger47, SweetHunniiBunnii, Elle. Gal, Living in Darkness, Stoic-Genius, Conflicted Soul, sousie, Sesshomarubaby18, The Winggoddess, Miyuki1393, Alencae & Spoon10488! XDD

_Replies:  
_Conflicted Soul – Kyuubi smex? Aaaa…that's a difficult question;D since I didn't plan on putting him up with anyone in this tale;)) Well maybe I'll try to write 'im with someone in another story, 'kay…XD

narubby23 – nah…I ain't trying to prolong it, there are just too many things I still want to add in this story;))

claudea – it's probably cheesy, but I guess ya can say that;))

YamiPimpster – thank ya for them' many reviews;))


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 19**_

* * *

"What 'ch doing there Uchiha?" asked Kisame, coming to stand before the inwardly panicked Uchiha.

"Nothing," was the steel answer of the black-haired man as he gently pushed the sink back to the wall behind himself.

"Such a colorful answer coming from someone like you." lightly hummed Zetsu before his voice suddenly took a 180 degree turn and changed its tone into something deep and venomous, reminding everyone of his changed personality that tended to appear from time to time. "There's no such thing as 'nothing' when the matter comes to _you_."

Keeping himself pressed close against the sink, just in case the hole was still showing behind his back, Madara constantly darted his eyes from one inmate to another, thought never did his gaze actually leave its full focus from Kisame and Kakuzu. Out of all four – those two were the most troublesome.

"What do you want?" he asked crossly.

"Explicitness." grumbled Kakuzu, stepping next to Kisame. "Tell us – what the hell is going on between you and Susanoo?"

"And not only between just the two of you," added Hidan, throwing the bible that stood against his true religion back on Shikamaru's bed with a sneer. "Clearly this whole shit begun ever since the appearance of that blond brat. Now not only Nara and Itachi are bent on tearing each other apart for him but you as well? That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Is he really worth the struggle for you to go against Itachi and Nara? …Or is there something between the four of you that you're not fucking telling us?"

"Whatever the shit I'm having between those three has no goddamn fuck ass business of you all."

"Bitch!" losing his cool, Kisame suddenly grabbed Madara by his neck and pushed him hard against the wall, right next to the sink. "Tell us the fucking truth before I-…"

"Kisame!"

Three pairs of eyes quickly darted towards the entrance to see Itachi and Shikamaru standing there; though Kisame didn't even flinch as he held his glare on the choking Uchiha.

"Let him go," ordered Itachi as he carefully approached his unruly cellmate. After their first encounter, one thing about Kisame that was quick to catch Itachi's eye was that it was near impossible to stop him once he became bloodthirsty or homicidal. And considering the state Madara was currently in – pale with blood rushing into his head and eyes – Kisame was just entering that stage.

"Why?" hissed the blue-haired man, not even glancing at Itachi as he kept on staring pleasingly at the wheezing Madara. "Why let such a waste live when I can simply snap his neck right here and now?"

"I told you before – he's not your burden. Let me handle him on my own."

"…Y-yea fish-boy…listen t-to yer master…" sniggered Madara, only to let out a shocked gasp as an incredibly hard punch was abruptly delivered to his lower abdomen, flipping all his intestines over.

"Lousy son of a whore…"

"Enough Kisame!" disappointed at his cellmate for not listening to his command, Itachi growled out, "Let him go! Now!"

With great reluctance, Kisame finally loosened his hold and let Madara drop to his knees.

Coughing and gasping, Madara encircled his burning abdomen with one hand while his other went to massage his bruised neck. "F-fuck, Su-sanoo…teach yer pets to heel the next time… or it'll cost you and the pretty blond dearly."

Itachi and Shikamaru momentarily understood that as a threat to their escape, though the rest didn't and neither did they take it too well.

"Shut your fucked up trap, slut!" heading straight for the madman, Hidan almost succeeded in slashing his hidden dagger across Madara's face if Itachi hadn't stopped him in time and practically tore him away for the delightfully sniggering Uchiha.

"The fuck is wrong with you Itachi!" screamed Hidan, disbelieved as he saw Itachi place himself in front of Madara, almost protectively. "Why are you protecting this shit? You should've killed him already!"

"Do not anger me Hidan. I told you before I will take care of him myself! Be it tomorrow or after a month is for me to decide." unwillingly Itachi glowered, not at all favoring the fact that he had to stand against his own gang to protect Uchiha of all people. But what choice did he have if he's to keep the escape from its ruins …and it's not like he could explain them why he was doing all this either, …which overall made him feel very sick and very angry.

He didn't want to choose. Both sides held something precious to him that he didn't want to lose. However, it was inevitable…it had to be only one of the two: freedom and Naruto or his friends and the rest of his life in prison. Clearly the best choice was obvious, but his gang held just as much meaning as freedom itself, …yet not as much as freedom _and_ Naruto.

"Itachi…"

Narrowing his eyes, Itachi looked at them with a heated glare, his mind set. "We'll talk later. Leave."

Struck by their leader's actions (especially regarding Madara), Kisame, Zetsu and Hidan hesitated for a few split seconds before they finally turned to leave.

Anger and disappointment shot his way was so clear in their eyes that it stung Itachi deeply. Of course he expected that, his behavior towards one of their longtime enemies was too incomprehensible and he couldn't blame them for their anger, but why did it have to hurt so much?

"Che. Whatever. Let's go." urging the rest to follow, Hidan stomped out of the cell followed by Zetsu and Kisame.

Stopping next to still silent Shikamaru leaning against the bars, Kakuzu looked back at Itachi and shared a piece of advice, "I suggest you to be careful Susanoo. The gang is slowly starting to lose their trust in you. So whatever you're doing you should do it quick…without any means of regrets."

All seemed clear in the spoken until the mention of 'regrets' came in and Shikamaru's curious gaze quickly turned to Itachi, silently asking what the man meant by that, but it seemed that Itachi himself was just as oblivious over the matter as Shikamaru.

"Hn." curling his lips in a small smirk that gladly met with his facial scars, Kakuzu lowered his voice enough for only them to hear as he enlightened their confusion, "Hate to say it, but you're not as secretive as you all would like to think you are."

Dark brown eyes slowly turned to look at dark green while dark green kept boring into unwavering coal black.

Finally breaking the silence within the cell, Kakuzu regarded Itachi with a narrow gaze. "I know what you're doing here…or more precisely – what you're planning."

Itachi's expression stood firm, which however could not be said about Shikamaru and Madara.

"What do you mean?" with a heavy lump stuck in his throat, Shikamaru tried to keep his voice even. Silently hoping that what Kakuzu just said was just a coincidental slip of a tongue.

Glancing at Nara, Kakuzu took those few steps separating him from Madara and stopped before the kneeling man. "There's no need to hide anymore, Nara. The Uchiha had basically already told me how _'close to freedom'_ you all are." Reaching then his hand out he went pass Madara's face and placed his fingers over the sink, pushing it a little to the side.

Hearing the silent metal scrapping against the floor Itachi's eyes slid close while Shikamaru took in a deep breath. _'Shit,'_ was their one shared curse.

"How long have you known?"

"I had suspicions since the riot." explained the scarred man, grinning at the gapping hole presented to him, "Until a certain pest here gave me the final clue while sticking his nose in your sink."

Both Itachi and Shikamaru were barely containing themselves from going there and finishing the failed assault on the mentioned pest themselves, which was undoubtedly the infamous Uchiha himself.

"You're lucky that those idiots were too focused on beating the crap out of him to notice anything." said Kakuzu while covering the hole back behind the sink.

"Lucky?" Shikamaru wanted to ask why the man would say that instead of just calling out to the rest of the bunch and blowing their whole cover. _'Maybe that's because he's expecting us to take him along for the ride?'_ keeping that conclusion to mind, Shikamaru decided to wait for the initiation of forced invitation.

Paying no mind to Nara, Kakuzu spoke to Susanoo, "I hope you understand that taking on such measures without the consent of your gang can greatly affect your position as not only the leader of our group but a friend as well. Keeping such secret especially behind _their_ backs is unforgivable."

'_Tell me something I don't know.'_ thought Itachi to himself bitterly, feeling no better from Kakuzu's words.

"Though I can understand why you did it." suddenly added Kakuzu, drawing full attention from the three men, although Itachi was yet to look at him. "I doubt it would have been due to your selfishness, because we both know that had there been a chance of all of us getting out, you would've taken it."

"How can you be so certain that I would do just that?"

"Because I've known you for years. I know how that mind of yours work and I doubt that I might be wrong. You are too devoted to us."

Staring at them both from the side with just as much perplexity as intrigue, Shikamaru vaguely began thinking that in a completely absurd way, Itachi and Kakuzu kind a reminded him of a student who's getting scolded by its teacher.

"For every plan, no matter the situation, time and number is always an essential part in the escape. The bigger the crowd the hazardouser is the chance of an escape. Our number would've been too much of a risk."

"You talk like you've had the experience," grumbled Madara under his nose but was ignored.

"I bet that there was a choice: the prison and the gang for the freedom and the blond. And it is clear, which line of sight you saw more enticing."

Itachi's brows furrowed. He couldn't figure Kakuzu out. Why was he telling him all that instead of just getting to the point and demanding to be included in the escape. His little distrust for the man was explainable though – since the very start their relationship has always been on an edge.

Glaring at him from the corner of his eye, Itachi suspiciously asked, "Why do you have such calm attitude towards all this?"

"I'm intrigued." replied Kakuzu; a mischievous glint in his eyes quickly made the others stiffen.

"By what?"

"How all this will turn out."

"Kakuzu, you do realize that I can kill you right on the spot if you as much as breathe a word about this escape." threatened Itachi, warning the man not to play games with them.

"There won't be any need." assured Kakuzu, "I'm not planning on telling anyone about your secret, nor am I asking to be included, unlike somebody." saying the last part, Kakuzu shot a look at all three of them (obviously getting how they managed to become the participants of the escape).

Paying no mind to the insult, Itachi and Shikamaru stared at the brawny man distrustfully.

"What do you want?" asked Shikamaru, quickly going to the basics.

"In order to make sure I keep to my silence?" Kakuzu arched one brown eyebrow. "…Nothing."

"Coming all the way just to tell us that you know of our plan and ask nothing in return wouldn't make any sense."

"It doesn't have to."

Staring after Kakuzu as he headed for the exit, Itachi wondered why then had he told them all that without a single gain in return. What was he planning?

"Why are you trying to encourage us?"

"Instead of simply busting your ass in? Is that what you're thinking?" chuckling a bit, Kakuzu did a nonchalant shrug, "I don't really know. Maybe because I never managed to gather the courage and escape this joint myself. And seeing someone else succeed might get me inspiration to do that what I abandoned a long time ago."

"Like what?"

"Like a spoon and a bucket for sand under my bed," joked Kakuzu and before leaving he said, "Though Itachi…I'd hurry if I were you. Zetsu is already starting to question the involvement of the cell itself. The longer you take your time the more chances you leave for them to finally find your secret out. And I don't think they'll be as indifferent about all this as I am. You wanna get out alive? Better move your ass then."

As soon as he was gone, a long silence filled the cell until Uchiha decided to remind the others of his presence.

"Ouch. Looks like you got it real bad this time, ne Susanoo?" sniggered Madara as he struggled to stand up. "Won't be any surprise if they suddenly rose up and killed you sometime during the night."

Unable to hold himself any longer, Itachi turned around and punched Madara painfully into his nose.

"FUCK!" dropping back down to his knees, Madara held his bleeding nose while going through all the curses his mind held in collection.

Seeing Itachi walk out of the cell with a furious look, Shikamaru sighed in exasperation and followed after him. _'Yare yare, better go with him before he does something troublesome.'_ Although Shikamaru usually could give a rat's ass about how Itachi was feeling, now, however, he couldn't help but feel involved and a bit worried for the man; he knew since knowing Itachi that his gang, despite being criminals and murderers, was the only thing as close to the family as it could get, especially in a place like Konoha Prison.

Stepping out of his cell, Shikamaru's traits were abruptly disturbed as he felt someone's eyes on him. Glancing lazily around the cellblock, his suspicion was soon confirmed with great disturbance when he found out whom it was staring at him. On the other side of their tier, along with Kisame, Hidan and Zetsu, and the rest addition of Susanoo's thugs (except Kakuzu) stood his gang, all watching him with something akin to doubt and a little bit of ire.

By the looks of it, Susanoo's goons had wasted no time in enlightening Nara's group of their leader's inexplicably secret involvement with the serial killer by the name of Uchiha Madara. And if it was diffidence he was seeing forming in their eyes then Shikamaru had no doubt that soon they're going to start questioning his leadership upon them just as well as Susanoo's gang upon Itachi.

Everything was starting to fall apart. If anything, Shikamaru swore he could already see the approach of a rebellious storm.

'_This is getting seriously dangerous.'_ clicking his tongue, he quickly walked off. _'If the information leaks out and they find out of our plan before the escape, it'll rise an endless chain of chaotic turmoil. And all chances of freedom will break.'_ Despite his gang's bastard characters, Shikamaru knew that neither would ever leave their mates hanging – if one goes then so do the rest. And he didn't even want to start thinking of the fact that as a leader – he had done the exact opposite.

'_Man…this is such a pain.'_

…

11:27

Approaching the nearly empty bench, save the one person occupying it, Shikamaru made a lame attempt at a smile, "Mind the company?"

Looking at him from the corner of his eye, Itachi pushed his outstretched feet to the side and let Nara take a seat next to him.

Rather unusual occurrence Shikamaru would say as he sat beside the frowning inmate. Usually they would be found a foot or three away from each other, but with things falling so fast down the hill during the last hour, what else could be expected? Pulling out his cigarette pack and a lighter, Shikamaru made himself busy while Itachi sank within his thoughts, silently wondering if his actions had made a terrible mistake. Of course, there were times when he had some disagreements with his gang but never before had he seen them looking at him with such betrayal.

"Don't beat yourself up so much." shaking up his nearly empty lighter, Shikamaru offered a piece of solace, "Everything was supposed to go fine until Madara showed up." dropping all blame on the smug-ass Uchiha, Shikamaru didn't feel sorry at all – that man was basically the cause of their current dilemma anyway. "That piece of shit screwed up everything." Grinning as he finally succeeded to ignite the lighter, Shikamaru placed it close to his cigarette and took in a little breath, though before he even managing to enlighten it – a blow of wind put it out. "Damn it!"

Smirking at the guy's failed attempts at getting a drug, Itachi dropped his head to rest on his hands behind his neck. "Listen to the signs. That stuff will kill you one day."

"Mother nature had no complains before," grumbling under his breath, Shikamaru pulled the slim white tube from his mouth and placed it behind his ear, dropping the lighter into his pocket.

"Things are starting to get rather ugly aren't they?"

Lidding one eye open, Itachi looked at Shikamaru thoughtfully. "Does it bother you?"

"What?"

"The fact that your gang might no longer look at you the same way as before."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Shikamaru didn't want to appear frustrated and shrugged. "What about you?"

Shrugging himself, Itachi closed his eyes and stretched out across the benches, "Sooner or later that was to be expected."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I know my gang better than anyone else. They aren't a bunch that would sit around and listen to orders, even if they come from the so called leader. And a simple excuse is never enough for them. But then, that's just how they are. …A group of intolerable imps which you can't help but get used to."

Shikamaru didn't miss a flash of a smile cross Itachi's face when he talked about his gang's practical disobedience.

"Only you would be proud of such a recalcitrant group." Shikamaru sneered.

"And only _you_ would give a damn about yours," retorted Itachi, making Nara chuckle at their verbal attacks on each other. Such moments sometimes reminded him why out of all gang leaders he favored Itachi the most as his rival.

'_Leaders? I'd say no more.'_ Looking at the situation now, Shikamaru realized that sooner or later he and Itachi just might no longer stand under such a high title. And if worse was to come at hand – they will no longer be able to walk freely among the yard without an occasional glimpse over the shoulder. _'This might just be the beginning of a long fall.'_

"If what Kakuzu said about Zetsu was true then we better start by screwing the sink back in place." said Shikamaru, already predicting what's waiting them ahead. "We cannot risk the chance of it being found out."

Itachi frowned at the suggestion, "It'll be a waste of time."

"But at least a _safe_ waste of time."

…

14:04

Furrowing his brows and setting his mouth in an irritated scowl, Naruto wheeled around and glared at two other men in the cell, "Alright. What the hell happened here?"

Rolling his shoulder, Shikamaru stiffened a low moan as it gave a slight crack. "We had a little problem. Nothing big. That blood is Uchiha's anyways."

"I'm not talking about the bloody bleeding wall. That's already a habitual occurrence here! What I'm asking is –…" coming closer to them, Naruto silently grit the words out through his teeth, "…why the hell is the sink screwed back?"

"For precaution. We're going to have a little company checking on us soon." explained Itachi.

"What company?"

"Susanoo's gang." picking up where Itachi left, Shikamaru continued, "It seems that they're slowly catching up on our plans."

"… … …_What_?"

"What I'm trying to say is – the escape is in jeopardy."

Snapping his widely opened mouth shut, Naruto finally exploded. "You sons of bitches! I leave you for barely two days to get a little bit of fucking peace after all the work I do and this is how you repay me?! The damn sink which took me hours of sleepless nights to unscrew is now screwed back and a surprise visiting party to top it off?!"

"Hey! At least we've managed to keep it safe so far. Besides, weren't it for Madara, we wouldn't have been in this shit!"

"The fuck has Madara to do with all this?"

"Everything! Had we not come here in time – that ass would've been dead no doubt and who the hell knows if Kakuzu would've kept his mouth shut about the escape if we hadn't intervened?"

"KAKUZU?! KAKUZU KNO-…?" Clapping Naruto's mouth shut before he lost himself completely and blabbered something unintentional during his screaming fit, Itachi sent Shikamaru a reproachful look.

"Will you shut up already! One information at a time is enough."

Crossing his arms, Shikamaru huffed, "Believe me, it'll be easier to deal with him if he knows everything in one shot."

"I'll take chance to contradict that," disagreed Itachi as he struggled to keep Naruto's voice down.

…

16:40

Sitting in their own very corner away from other gangs, including two of which were staring at them with great hostility from the other side of the yard, Shikamaru, Itachi, Madara and Naruto silently discussed the routine of their plan.

"There's a six meter tall drainage area separating us from the infirmary – our central point. In order for us to reach it, the drainage area must be filled with water, which will take about 74h. That's three days plus 2hours. And that'll be the interval we'll have before we can get a move on our escape. Right now, there are just two more things that are needed to be done before we can set the plan in motion. First – set the starting time of our escape and second – the window bars." making sure everyone got him that far, Naruto went straight to the first question, "So…when will we set the time?"

"The sooner the better." Madara was quick to speak out. "Besides, I doubt these two falling _kings_ over here will even survive that long if we linger any longer." he mocked, jerking a thumb at Nara and Susanoo.

Ignoring the looks Shikamaru and Itachi were sending the smirking Uchiha, Naruto had to agree. The news were quick to spread, so he already heard about the mess that concerned their two gangs, which apparently were no longer holding their entire trust on them.

"I agree. We have to get you two out of here as soon as possible."

A bit surprised by the blond's concern, Itachi and Shikamaru's eyes went on him.

Cursing the tingle of a blush that spread across his cheeks, Naruto quickly averted their eyes and went back to tearing the grass out by his feet. "If there's nothing delaying anyone, then I'm going within the walls tonight. Note: from then on the time will be set and we'll have three days. Be sure to get ready as on the third – I will call."

"At what time?" asked Itachi.

Pondering, Naruto did the math on the dirt he grubbed up from the grass. "9pm. The cells close up around 10pm. And the first night count starts ten minutes later. In short, before the clock strikes 10pm – we have to be out."

"You think we won't be able to fit within an hour?" laughed Uchiha.

"Anything can go wrong."

"Then all that's left is the window." said Shikamaru, reminding about the most important and final step within the escape.

"That's right. We have to figure out how to break the bars in less than maximum 7minutes. Any mishaps might affect the time we'll have to get over the wire. Right now I'm counting on 3minutes for each one of us. But if something happens, we must be prepared to have less than a minute to get over the walls."

"Too bad we can't bring in a chainsaw."

"Instead of throwing around your smartass remarks, Madara, why not make yourself useful for once and shut up!?"

Cutting in before Naruto went all ballistic on the bastard murderer, Shikamaru asked, "Can't you use that grater you got from last time to cut them?"

"No, it's too weak against window bars. Plus, it took me more than five minutes just to get one grate broken in the drainage area. It takes too much time."

"Perhaps you should look for chemicals then." offered Itachi.

Shikamaru quickly remembered his toothpaste, "That's right. Can't you use that _anhy-phostic_-something acid?"

"That's _anhydrous phosphoric_, and no. That stuff takes too long to set in, and it won't be effective on those bars – they're made of platinum. We need something stronger."

"What about _aqua regia_?"

Naruto quickly looked at Itachi, as while Shikamaru and Madara looked lost, "A what now?"

"You mean the nitro-hydrochloric acid?" Naruto was quick to get his hopes up. "Does the Toxic Center even have such a solution?"

Though to Naruto's disappointment Itachi shook his head, "No, it doesn't."

"Tsk… then what the hell was the point in telling me all that, if we can't get the blasted chemical in the first place?"

"I like to get a rise out of you."

Glaring at the smirking 'raven', Naruto blinked when Shikamaru suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder and pointed at something behind him. "We might not get the stuff, but we could ask him."

Following his cellmate's gaze, Naruto's eyes quickly settled on a tall smirking long black-haired prisoner with eyes as vividly yellow as the venom itself.

Naruto went pale, "_Him_?"

"He's the only inmate with the widest connections indoors and outdoors, little fish." sourly remarked Itachi, looking at the snake-like-man with slight distaste. "Besides, that man lives for chemistry."

Naruto was definitely not too happy to find that out. A man who nearly raped him now held the key to their escape.

'_This is bullshit!'_

"No! Forget it! I'm not going to him! One trauma is more than enough!" throwing his hands up, Naruto yelled out just as the signal rang and everyone was called for dinner.

…

18:06

Exiting the dining-hall after a brief bite of a meal and a lot of debating, Naruto slowly and with great reluctance headed for the yard in search of a person who usually tended to stand out within the crowd. And as expected, thanks to that notion, he was quick to find.

Feeling a bit sick, Naruto leant against Itachi's shoulder and inclined his head towards his cellmate on his right. "What if I go to him and he rapes me?"

"Not if he values his life he won't." said Itachi. "You want us to come with you?"

"Iie. He should go alone." also feeling a bit reluctant to let Naruto go alone, Shikamaru still knew that it couldn't be done otherwise. "You know that that snake hates it when someone's ganging up on him."

"Well why does it have to be me?" growled Naruto.

"Because we're out of the question obliviously. Itachi and I had never liked Orochimaru, nor was it just one-sided – there never was and never will be an agreement between us all. And the time he offered us Kabuto was just so he didn't have to dirty his hands; he knew we would've mutilated him with or without his approval either way, so that event doesn't even count. And please don't even make me start on Madara."

Groaning, Naruto felt like digging a hole and dying, he wasn't sure why but something about that 'snake' inmate made his hair stand on end. _'I don't even want to think how this conversation will go. But what else can we do? He's the one holding the last key to our escape. I guess it won't hurt to try and reason with him… Yeah, unlikely.'_ With no other hope to do but try, Naruto sighed and headed straight for the 'snake's' shouting group, leaving Itachi and Shikamaru watching from the distance.

Having already seen the way those three had some sort of business with him (with the way they kept looking at him every now and then), Orochimaru smirked when he saw the blond finally take a lonely walk towards his benches and met Naruto midway.

It wasn't a secret he was trying to hide – Naruto was ready to flee at any given chance. And, no doubt, Orochimaru knew that.

"Such a pleasant surprise." the man purred, taking Naruto's one hand and bringing it to his lips so he could kiss it just like the last time. "It's nice to meet you again, Na-ru-to."

"I wish I could say the same." murmured Naruto only to bite his tongue when he realized he said it out loud.

Inwardly pleased by the other's discomfort that only 'sparkled' his feel of superiority, Orochimaru restrained himself from licking his lips openly. "I see that our previous encounter had still left a stinging sensation within you."

'_You think?'_ mentally Naruto growled, getting even more irritated by the minute as that smirk on Orochimaru's features grew more permanent.

"I hope you hold no ill will, little fox? I didn't mean to scare you." _'Even though I do hope to have a continuum from where we left off.'_

"I'm not here to hear out sentiments," finally Naruto spoke. The edge in his voice was quick to be noticed by Orochimaru and his smirk dropped a bit. "There's a favor I'd like to ask of you."

"Oh?" more interested now, Orochimaru arched his slim eyebrow, his aura becoming more malicious than before. "What could my little foxy possible want from me?"

Recalling the conversation he, Shikamaru and Itachi went through within the dining-hall, Naruto suddenly started to have second thoughts of their thought-out plan. So instead of saying that what should've been said, Naruto smiled and inclined his hand to the side, "Can we take a walk?"

Orochimaru was surprised and a little impressed, the blond's charade had abruptly changed – from one of a scared boy who held a previously thought out plan – to one of a deviously sly man who had something behind his sleeve.

"Wherever you'd like." affirmatively said Orochimaru and followed the blond to one of the most peaceful areas of the prison – the church.

Itachi and Shikamaru quickly exchanged perplexed looks.

…

Stepping through the opened doors of a small old design church that lay right next to the Guard Main Tower, Naruto guided clueless Orochimaru to the middle of the nearly empty row seats and knelt down.

The slightly disgruntled look on Orochimaru's face quickly told Naruto that the man was no fan of religion but neither did he look at it with aversion. Perhaps the notion itself that he had been brought to a sacred place – which banned any acts of transgression – had disturbed his composure. Orochimaru might not be a devoted religious person – but nor was he going to be a sinner in the god's very area. Which, all in all, was the reason why Naruto had brought him there in the first place.

Smiling to himself, Naruto placed his hands together in a prayer while Orochimaru heaved an annoyed sigh and took a seat next to him.

"Are you trying to shield me away from you?" he asked, finally getting that the shrewd blond had intentionally brought him to the church so he won't be able to touch him.

"I haven't come to you so we could play cat-and-mouse. I'm here to do business."

"Business? With me?" amused by the boldness and graveness of the tone, Orochimaru had to wonder for how long will the blond be able to keep him entertained. "That's a serious matter you're trying to reach. You sure you are up to it?"

However, despite the mockery, Naruto was not to be deterred. "Save your scorn for later, Orochimaru. I'm not here to just ask you a favor but to give one as well."

Orochimaru was very interested now. "You want to give me something?"

"I know how things work around here, so it's inevitable." crossing his arms over his chest, which he caught Orochimaru ogling too much, Naruto leant deeper into his seat. "The so called tit for tat strategy is the base. So before I even begin asking you my favor, I'm going to give you one myself."

"Such confidence you have there, Naruto. You sure you're favor will be able to match up to my needs?" the emphasis to his statement, which he gladly showed with a simple gesture of his eyes and lips, gave Naruto the chills.

Curling his fingers painfully around his biceps for some self-control, Naruto forced himself to say the next words out. No matter how much he knew he might regret them later, he had to do it, "I think that such an offer comes once an inmate's lifetime."

'_Offer?'_ "And what exactly _is_ it that you're…_offering_ me?" Orochimaru was positive that there was only one thing that any prisoner could ever offer – and that was the body – which was unlikely to be denied (especially from the blond before him), but never would've he expected to hear the following:

"Freedom." answered Naruto. "I'm breaking out of Konoha Prison."

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Big thanks to:_ brokenfromthepast, itachisgurl93, saya420, YamiPimpster, narubby23, lulubeck, SweetHunniiBunnii, Elle. Gal, Winter Sunset, Narutopokefan, Savagehunger47, DelicateGreenEyes xx, Felnore, dark-wolf-howl, Apocalyptic Cake & Neko86! =DD

_Replies:  
_Apocalyptic Cake – Gaara won't have a big role here, but he'll show up a bit later;))

narubby23 – other fics will come with summer, then I hope I'll have more time to do them;))


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 20**_

* * *

If Naruto had to explain 'stupor', then that's what he would call Orochimaru now. The man just stared at him, stared as if he was dropped from another planet.

"Is this a joke?" finally asked Orochimaru, his eyes narrowing in suspicion and mild disbelieve. For a moment there, he thought that maybe the boy was trying to make a fool out of him. "Jokes are funny, little boy. But not under such a level."

Frowning at the man who refused to take him seriously, Naruto grit his teeth, "I'm not fooling around, Orochimaru. Unless you didn't figure, I would've _never_ come to you just to poke fun."

"You never know," smirking lightly Orochimaru rested his elbow on the settle's back, "Up till now, you've been nothing but a surprise to me."

"Hmph. Well think again."

Furrowing his brows back together, Orochimaru looked at Naruto keenly. The boy just stared back, not showing any signs of waver or indication to measly lies. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Well _look_ who finally figured." mockingly praised Naruto, giving the man a cold smile.

Orochimaru's eyes widened a good few inches before his mouth took in a full grin. "Well I'll be…. Never would I have guessed that such a cute little boy was capable of something this devious." Feasting his eyes all over Naruto's body again, the elder inmate licked his lips, "And here I thought you were just a good piece of fine ass."

Angered till the brim of wanting to pummel the man into the floor, Naruto restrained his itching hands and crossed them over his chest. "So what's it gonna be?" he asked impatiently, wanting nothing more than to get this done and over with.

Looking back into those enchanted blue depths, Orochimaru smirked, "You know fish… with all the selfish estimate this prison runs, this is the first time I ever heard something as 'beautiful' coming from a fellow inmate's mouth."

Naruto didn't even want to search a comparison to that statement, but right now that wasn't the time to think it. He was about to have the man right where he wanted him; after all…what could've been better than a free opportunity of an escape, especially for a prisoner with a life sentence? Orochimaru couldn't refuse. Naruto had it all in the bag.

"That's just too fucking…now what's that word again?" puckering up his eyebrows, Orochimaru gave a silent thought before he smiled, "Ahh, that's right – _sweet_."

A bit disturbed by the uncharacteristic smile and the total change of aura, Naruto fidgeted a little and looked around himself, wondering if the effect was mutual to anyone else that was in the church. The man's smile was nor pleasant nor threatening – if anything it seemed nonexistent, which was very unlike him. _'Ok, now I'm freaked out.'_

"What is that you want from me?" the sudden question quickly brought Naruto back on track. Orochimaru was no longer smiling, which in turn made Naruto think if he was seeing things before. "Huh?"

Shaking his head in amusement, Orochimaru guessed the boy never expected him to have a human side as well (though he had to admit – it was a tad bit rusty). "Surely you haven't come here just to offer me a free run now, did ya? Name your price, Naruto."

"Does this mean we have a deal?" asked Naruto, hoping to hear a clear confirmation that the man was willing to take his offer for the favor.

"Just tell me what you want."

Hesitating for a couple of seconds, Naruto finally said, "I need nitro-hydrochloric acid."

Nodding, Orochimaru abruptly stood up, "You'll get it." and with that he went to exit the already empty church.

With his mouth agape, Naruto shot after him, "What a…? Hey wait! We're not finished yet!"

"You know Naruto." suddenly stopping, Orochimaru smirked as Naruto bumped into him. "I've been in this prison for twenty years…perhaps more, but I lost count. And through all those years I've never had anyone offer me an actual taste of freedom. Of course I know that was there any other option of a fast escape for you, you wouldn't have even come looking for me. But it's a tit for tat strategy – no one expects anything for free – so it's understandable. No offence taken," winking at him, Orochimaru then frowned in thought, "Though it surprises me that you didn't try to offer me money instead."

"Would you even take it if I did?" carefully Naruto eyed Orochimaru.

The man's smirk widened and he regarded Naruto with a perverted leer, "Iie… I would better take something else of yours."

"Don't even go there," hissed Naruto, taking a cautious step back.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Come now, do you honestly think I'm only after you for your _body_?"

Naruto shot him a knowing glare.

Orochimaru raised his hands up in mock surrender, "Ahh…Guilty as I'm found!"

"Cut the crap, Orochimaru, and tell me straight – are you in on this or not?"

Lowering his hands, the black hired inmate lidded his eyelids and smiled, "As tempting an offer it is…, I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

Naruto thought that nothing could ever shock him as much as a stack of electricity, though apparently he was wrong. "E-ex-cuse me?"

Stepping closer to the bewildered blond, Orochimaru lightly brushed Naruto's cheek, "Had I heard such words ten or fifteen years prior, I would've agreed to them without a doubt…, but not now."

"Not now? Why not?" With Orochimaru declining his offer, Naruto feared that due to the stupid strategy he now won't get the darn chemical and his chances of getting out of the prison will grow up to three more months of planning, but he doubted he would even live that long – father will kill him.

"Limitless reasons, boy. I've spent too much of my time building my own empire in this hellhole to leave it now. Plus, this is the place where we can easily feast on any new little fish that swims in once every month without getting punished. I'd say: could I ask for something better?"

Scowling at the description of Orochimaru's so called 'paradise', Naruto cursed to himself – his chances were blown. He got no guarantee over the chemical and to make it worse – he now had another inmate who knew of his plan and could easily use it against him however he pleased. _'SHIT!'_

Sniggering at the gloomy blond, Orochimaru could pretty much guess what was going on in that little head of his. _'You are one intriguing child, Uzumaki Naruto. A bit rash but daring.'_ Taking Naruto's small hand, Orochimaru raised it to his lips. "Rest your mind at ease, foxy. You have nothing to worry about. I'm not going to sing…unless you give me reason to do it," he assured, promising to keep the escape in secrecy.

"How can I trust you won't tell on me?" frowned Naruto, waiting for something among the lines of: _'I won't, if you sleep with me'._

"By doing just that – trusting me." Taking a step back, Orochimaru gave the blinking blond one last smile before turning him his back. "Come to me in two days, little fox. And I will have what you want waiting for you… no strings attached." And with that he left, leaving one very still and very shocked blond hanging.

…

18:41

Quickly marching into his cell, Naruto ignored the usual company of Shikamaru and Itachi there as he pulled the covers off from his bed and hung them up. "Stand guard," he ordered them and hastily began unscrewing the sink.

"Are we to assume that the 'meeting' went without the hitch?" asked Shikamaru.

"You could say that. We'll see if he's the man of his word in two days."

"Did he agree to the deal?"

"Well…not exactly, but we came to a different agreement."

Exchanging looks, Shikamaru and Itachi understood that in some way Naruto succeeded to make Orochimaru get the acid for them, but not in the way they planned. And the unknown cost of what it took him was quick to disturb Itachi.

"What did he ask of you?" he asked, a small glare forming in his eyes.

"Nothing."

"Everyone says it around here, and it never reaches the word's actual meaning. Tell me what did he ask of you?"

"Well ain't this prison just a game of words then. Geez, if I said nothing then I meant nothing. Take my word for it Itachi." that statement was more to assure himself than Itachi, for doubt still darkened Naruto's expression.

"I'd be easier to do it if it wasn't Orochimaru we're dealing with, the man's a swindler." coming to stand next to Itachi, Shikamaru also wanted to make sure that Orochimaru hadn't wrapped Naruto around his little finger. "Did you even lay down the conditions we agreed on out to him?"

"Umm…no."

"WHAT?" Itachi and Shikamaru yelled out.

"Oh like that would've even worked!" Naruto yelled back. "Sure we could have bribed him, but I think Orochimaru has more than enough power and sources to satisfy himself thoroughly. I mean come on! He's the gang leader. Plus, that wasn't what he was aiming to get from _me_, so much I could tell the moment I looked him in the eyes. I'm not trying to flatter myself or anything, but that man has one-sided way of thinking. And buying myself out of his clutches wouldn't have worked."

"You better not have ended with selling him yourself, little fish," Itachi's voice dropped menacingly. "Our plan was to offer him the money, nothing else, and had that not worked, you should've gotten the hell away from him. Why didn't you just do that?"

"Because he's the only man that holds the key to our escape. And, no, I didn't sell myself to him!" averting their eyes, Naruto murmured the last part in bare whisper, "I offered him freedom instead."

"You WHAT?"

"Oh Come ON! What the hell was I supposed to do? I had to make sure we got that mixture, otherwise it'd be the end for us…well not us but me definitely." Naruto shivered at the thought of his father and the promise they both made. "And what better way to get it than offering him something that every inmate dreams about?"

"Are you saying that we're having another addition to the escape now?" asked Shikamaru, rubbing his hurting head.

"I didn't say that." pulling out the last screw, Naruto looked up at them, "Actually, he's not coming with us."

Shikamaru and Itachi blinked in total stupor, "_What_?"

Suddenly the bed sheet was jerked to the side and all three stiffened in place, Naruto's hands automatically went to cover the screws by his knees.

"WHAT'S GOing on…here…?" disturbed by the yelling, curious officer's Tenzo's voice rapidly dropped down as soon as he took in the sight presented, which went as follows: two men standing with their feet a bit spread apart, facing the bars with their backs and having a kneeling blond on the ground right in front of them. And the first impression was of course one great misapprehension. "Oh My GOD! Put on a sheet, men!"

"The sheet _is_ on!" two irritated growls from the 'dominant males' growled back at him, forcing the flush officer to quickly let the white sheet go but not before giving officer Hatake enough time to catch a glimpse of what was happening inside and burst in perverse giggles.

As soon as the two officers went away, with the giggling one teasing the embarrassed one, Naruto began his own set of yelling at the two pleased men still towering above him, "THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING STANDING LIKE THAT AS IF EXPECTING A BLOWJOB!"

"I believe we're covering you." overly innocent dismissed Itachi.

"And as you can proudly see, we've succeeded. As far as we're concerned, those two fools think that that was the exact thing you were doing to us instead of just uncovering our 'chamber of secrets'." wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, Shikamaru sniggered as Naruto pushed him away.

"OH GOD! SHUT UP!" With his face all red and embarrassed beyond help, Naruto went back to concentrate on his work.

…

19:01

Sliding into the drainage area, Naruto balled the picked up sheets and stuffed them into the waterspout, blocking the water's way out.

Checking the watch, Naruto set the time, _'74 hours from now on. And then we make our escape, …if nothing goes wrong.'_ Thinking back to Orochimaru, Naruto bit his lip, wondering about the 'two-days' trust' he had devoted to Orochimaru, during which the man promised to get him the wanted acid. He knew that by relying on that man, Naruto was taking a big risk, which could turn into whether a good luck or a painful disaster. It's not that father would actually kill him, but the outcome of what might befall on the people he got to know during his time in Konoha Prison, he did not want to chance and see. Plus, Pain might not manage to escape Japan for the third time if he's spotted.

…

20:15

Thrumming his fingers over the payphone outside in the courtyard, Naruto waited for the signal to go through.

"_We're sorry, the number you're trying to reach is not in service. Plea-…"_

"Oh for the love of God! Damn it Kyuubi! Turn on your goddamn phone!" slamming the phone back down, Naruto picked it up again and dialed a different number. _'Come on, pick up – pick up – pick up, you bastard!'_

After more than a few rings, the call was finally answered, "Hello?"

'_Finally!'_ smiling, Naruto greeted his long since known grouchy friend, "Good evening, Sasuke. How's the vacation?"

"Naruto? Why are you calling me? Is something the matter?" worried that Naruto might be in trouble, Sasuke was quick to become alert.

"Well yea, Kyuubi's phone is dead; I can't reach him any other way. And father's in a completely different state so I'm not even going to try to get in contact with him. That's why I'm calling you."

"Well what the hell do you want from me?"

"I want you to get in touch with Kyuubi and tell him to get in touch with me as soon as he can."

"You calling me in the middle of a fucking night just to tell me _that_?"

"Oh come now, it's a baby time. And this is important."

"Something happened?"

"Yea… but I'm not sure how it'll turn out in the end."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you later, am running out of time money here. Just please call Kyuubi and give him the message."

"Do I look like a little messenger pigeon to you?"

"Oh don't be like that, Sasuke, you're not little." Naruto's smirk dropped as the other line ended under a repetitive beeping sound. Looking at the phone, Naruto pouted, "How rude, he hung up on me."

…

21:23

Throwing his towel to the side, Itachi heaved a tired sigh as he entered the empty shower stalls. The day's been pressuring as hell. There were so many people he ached to kill right now. Orochimaru – the secretive bastard, Madara – the prancing fool who was asking for a black eye, and finally – his gang, which he halfway wanted to kill and halfway wanted to ask for forgiveness. Though with their steel silence and those backstabbing glares, he guessed he knew towards which way he'd prefer to head (even though they had every right to be angry with him). But that still didn't mean he couldn't call them all bastards.

Turning on the shower, Itachi stepped under the spray and placed his hands against the wall. He really just wanted to be left alone now.

Suddenly catching the sounds of another shower starting around the corner, Itachi's mouth set a dangerous scowl. How could he get peace with someone disturbing it?

Feeling like letting out some steam, he hit the shower handles close and headed to give the peace wrecker a piece of his mind or better yet – his fist.

However, to his immense delight, he quickly found out that the 'peace wrecker' was more of a welcoming personality than anything else. Naruto was there – standing under the running shower with his face facing the wall and giving out an unknowing temptation with that sinfully bare body. Surpassing a low desire-full growl, Itachi smirked and approached the oblivious blond who seemed too far in his own thoughts to even notice him.

Drumming his fingers against the wall, Naruto's thoughts sank into doubts over Orochimaru's motives. _'Devil can only figure that man out. What if he's actually duping me or trying to lure me into his lair? Perhaps the next time I meet with him I should grab something heavy? At least a boot will suit enough to knock him unconscious and run for it…'_

"You're putting too much thought into unnecessary things, little fish." Flinching as a cold finger suddenly run all over his backbone, Naruto quickly turned around to smirking Itachi.

"What're you doing here?" lamely whispered Naruto, having no idea why his voice suddenly dropped – maybe it had something to do with the heat, though whether it was from the steaming water or the hot man he didn't even want to find out.

"Silly question. This is the shower room, isn't it?"

"Yes well…" shutting up, Naruto averted his eyes in shame. Damn it, why did he have to feel so awkward around this man? _'That's probably because the stupid steam's messing up my brain.'_

While Naruto was too busy arguing with himself, Itachi took his time exploring the blond's body. _'He has an unusual built. Quite effeminate for a male. Yet all the more appealing and desirable.'_

Catching Itachi checking him out, Naruto bit his lip, "Please don't look at me like that."

Setting his dark eyes back on the bright blue, Itachi cocked his head to the side, "Why not?"

"It's making me feel uneasy."

"So does your attitude towards me."

"What?"

Smirking slightly, Itachi lidded his eyes halfway, "Tell me, little fish. Why is it that both Nara and you proclaim to be boyfriends yet you both clearly avoid contact whenever no one's looking?"

Naruto's eyes widened disturbingly. _'How does he know that? I thought that we were always careful. Is he spying on us?'_

Not waiting for an answered, Itachi continued on asking. He need to know what was going on between Naruto and Shikamaru, the stupidity of this obscurity was driving him insane. And the motives behind the redhead's visit were only adding fuel to his fire. "Who exactly is he to you?"

"Wh-why do you keep asking me that? I already told you, he's my boyfriend."

"A boyfriend who has a girlfriend?" Itachi didn't want to sound prodding but he was getting seriously annoyed. "I didn't think of you as a person who likes to screw around with people who are already in a relationship."

"I'm not!" Naruto snapped back. If he had to admit, hearing Itachi say that had really hurt.

"Then why are you with _him_?"

"We're just… look what does this even have to do with you? I don't owe you an explanation for what and with whom I'm with."

"On the contrary. You do."

"Tsk, since _when_ do I owe you anything?"

"Since the time you kissed me."

A deep crimson blush covered Naruto's cheeks. "Th-that wasn't even a proper kiss." he spluttered in frustration.

Arching an eyebrow, Itachi crossed his arms, "Then why did you do it?"

"I was _thanking_ you."

"Do you always thank people with a kiss, little fish?"

"No!" growling in denial, Naruto turned the man his back. "I did it because it was you," he whispered silently.

Itachi's eyes widened a friction. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" hissing at him, Naruto muttered under his breath, "I thought that maybe you'd appreciate it more than a pack of cigarettes or money, since you're so bent on staring at my ass all the time."

At those words, Itachi's eyes quickly went to the mentioned part of the blond's anatomy. Yes, he liked to stare at it very much.

Running a hand through his wet hair, Naruto sighed at the other's silence and continued cleaning himself up. "Look. Shikamaru and me are friends. Call it friends with benefits if you will, which doesn't mean much, but I don't see that being any of your concern." Glancing back at the silent 'raven', Naruto met his gaze, "Why are you so interested about my personal life anyway?"

Getting lost into those blue depths for what seemed like hours, Itachi suddenly shortened the gap between them and forced Naruto to step back all the way till the cold wall. Supporting his left hand against the wall, next to Naruto's head, Itachi cupped Naruto's cheek into his other hand and gently traced his lips with his thumb. "Isn't it obvious?"

All words left Naruto's mind as Itachi suddenly placed a gentle kiss on his lips. It was brief, but enough to leave Naruto in a complete mess. Naruto wanted to hit him, he did, but instead he found himself seeking more contact. Itachi was like a drug – dangerous, hard to get rid of and never enough. _'This is so not fair.'_ Placing his hands against Itachi's chest, Naruto leant into the kiss.

Parting away, Itachi smirked as Naruto looked up at him with a glazed look. He was so beautiful.

Breathing a bit unevenly, Naruto averted his eyes and bit his lower lip coyly. Those intense dark eyes made him want to shy away. Why did this man have to look so goddamn handsome?

As from the other perspective, Itachi felt like dying – the boy was killing him with that sinfully innocent look of his. Honestly, how much cuter could this boy get?

"Why do you chase me, Itachi?"

Chuckling lightly, Itachi wound his arm around Naruto's waist and tucked a blond strand behind his ear. "You're rather oblivious, aren't you?"

Naruto's breath hitched as Itachi suddenly pulled him against his body and kissed him again.

The feel of soft lips against his own was amazing, Itachi just wanted to stay like this forever, or at least for the next hour. It was perfect, Naruto's body just seemed to melt against his own, a perfect fit. Biting his lip gently, Itachi was more than pleased when Naruto parted for him and let his tongue wander into his mouth. Hesitantly almost shyly, Naruto's tongue met with his. That simple touch was enough to spark electricity within the man, and right at that moment, Itachi felt more possessed by Naruto than he thought Naruto would be possessed by him. Naruto had to be his – one way or another. Sinking his nails painfully into Naruto's hips, Itachi thrust his groin against the blond's. And that's when things had to stop for the young Namikaze.

"Stop…please stop…" gripping Itachi's shoulders, Naruto broke their kiss, breathing unsteadily.

Itachi most certainly didn't want to stop, but settling with a low growl, he somehow managed to do so. "Why do you do this to me, little fish? Why make me stop?"

Amused by the restraint the man was trying to put onto himself (that indicating to the strong grip Itachi still held on his hips), Naruto hesitated before he brushed his hand lightly against Itachi's cheek, willing the man to open his eyes. In all honesty, the little voice that Naruto stubbornly tried to ignore, reminded him that deep down he wanted to commit himself all to Itachi and only to Itachi, but not until he's ready to hand the man his trust.

"I'm… I don't know you well enough to trust you with this." silently said Naruto, admitting the fact that he was not as easy to bed, although Shikamaru could tell another tale, but what they did was different.

"I can get you to know me." said Itachi.

"You can. But do you really want to?"

Staring at the blond, Itachi wondered – how could Naruto be so trustful to Nara yet couldn't even bring the slightest trust on him? "Why is it so hard for you to understand that I want you, Naruto?"

Gulping lightly, Naruto's cheeks darkened. The intensity of the man's stare really got him feel weak in the knees. _'Why must he affect me so?'_ "You want me because of my body."

"I want you because of _you_." quickly corrected Itachi. "It's not lust I have for you, little fish. The emotion I feel I can't even name, but it isn't a simple desire either…it's something more. I fear to say it's love yet, but I can say it's close to it."

Naruto was really starting to flame up. To utter so many embarrassingly sweet words was so not like Itachi. _'How can he stay so cool while saying stuff like that?'_ Chewing nervously on his lower lip, Naruto cast his eyes downwards,_ 'Has he really fallen for me?'_

Watching as the shower continuously hit against Naruto's skin and then glide all over that teasing naked body, Itachi repressed a low frustrated groan. Not that he would admit, but he was really starting to get jealous of those running water drops caressing Naruto's golden skin. Because seriously, how much more temptation could a man stand? Naruto was standing there…wet and _naked_, still right there in his arms, practically begging to be raped. Oh, why did Itachi have to be so forbearing?

Sighing at himself in annoyance, Itachi pulled Naruto's chin up. Naruto's eyes batted against the hitting water drops, silently asking what Itachi was going to say. Itachi almost moaned – looking this sinfully cute was illegal in his book. Bending his head down, Itachi sedated his inner horny demons by lightly kissing the corner of Naruto's lips. "Naruto… Will you ever find it in yourself to open up to me?"

Blushing for the umpteenth time, Naruto smiled, "I'll try."

A bit taken aback by the quick reply, Itachi blinked. Had he finally managed to succeed? "You really mean that?"

Feeling frisky, Naruto was about to shout a 'no' but decided against it. He didn't want to ruin the mood. Besides, he had to finally admit that Itachi had long since rouse a great deal of interest to him. At first he feared that Itachi was just playing a cruel game with him; a game where he might become just a one-night-stander. Though now…now he didn't know what to think, so he decided to take a risk. "Yes."

A wide possessive grin spread over Itachi's lips and he pushed Naruto against the wall, kissing him with passionate force. _'Screw Nara! Naruto will be mine!'_

Feeling Itachi's hands slide all the way up to his waist and their pelvises touch in one harsh thrust, Naruto couldn't help a loud moan escaping his throat. _'Wait. It's going too fast. This isn't right…but damn it it feels so good.' _Securing his arms around Itachi's strong shoulders Naruto grind against him, grinning into the kiss as Itachi uttered a low pleasing growl and placed his hands on Naruto's ass, gripping tightly.

Not for long did their make out session last as a sudden whistle was emitted from the side, "It's just like _Icha-Icha Tactics_ in reverse gender. I'm sensing a go of a love triangle~."

Shooting a glare over his shoulder, Itachi hissed at the smiling perverted officer Hatake.

"Oh-Oh, don't mind me." waving his hand at them encouragingly, Kakashi looked at his watch, "You still have a few more minutes left till night's lock up, so there's enough time for you to get to the third base."

Naruto wanted to die, how many more embarrassing moments was he to endure that day.

"Get the hell out!" growled Itachi, keeping his hands possessively around Naruto's ass while pressing him securely against his body.

"Maa-maa…no need to be so aggressive, Susanoo." Slumping his shoulders under a dramatic sigh, Kakashi murmured, "And here I came as a loyal officer ready to get his lovely prisoners off to bed. Well you know what, you're not getting any bedtime story from me with that attitude."

"Get lost Hatake!" this time both Itachi and Naruto yelled at him.

Chuckling, Kakashi pocketed his hands and left the showers with a distinct order, "I'm giving you ten minutes to get dressed, boys."

Moaning in disbelieve, Naruto hid his flushed face in his hands, "Mou…why does this always happen to me?"

Taking Naruto's wrist, Itachi guided them to the dressing room. "Come. We better get you dressed before anyone else finds a reason to come and ogle you." Barely catching the last part Itachi mumbled under his breath, Naruto found his possessiveness to be kind a sweet.

"There's a deep sense of protective nature about you, isn't there?" lightly teased Naruto.

"Only when it comes to people I care for."

Flattered beyond hope, Naruto felt like an idiot as that stupid blush returned back again. "Rather unusual character for a prisoner."

"Just like your cute demeanor, little fish."

Pouting, Naruto grumbled, "I'm not cute."

"Could've fooled me." letting Naruto's wrist go, Itachi turned to him and leant against the lockers.

Fidgeting uncomfortably, Naruto glared as Itachi kept watching him. "What? You're just gonna stand there and stare while I get dressed?"

"That's right."

"Well stop it."

"Why? You are my unofficial boyfriend now, little fish. I hoped that if I can't have sex with you yet, I at least get to see this much."

"Urgh! For a boyfriend you're a real perve ya know that?" grabbing his pants, Naruto turned Itachi his back and began dressing.

Smirking, Itachi set his eyes on the most favored part of Naruto's body – his ass. "I do now."

…

23:00

In the outskirts of Japan…

Silencing the powerful purrs of the _Dodge Challenger's_ engine, Kyuubi stepped out of his black 'monster' and grinned up at an impressive airplane standing in the very center of the hangar. The other middle-sized models could not even compare to its beauty. Indeed, Pain's renovated copy of the _Boeing 747-8_ was one remarkable piece of work.

Closing the doors behind himself, Kyuubi walked pass the large plane that was still undergoing the last repairs and headed towards the farthest end of the room, where the smaller planes stood in one line. Stepping before the _Bombardier BD-700-1A10_, Kyuubi looked askew at the dangling feet from under its body and knocked against the plane's surface.

"Hands off my baby, demon fox!" A pale grease stained shirtless man with dirty blond hair rolled from under the _Bombardier_. His amber eyes glared at Kyuubi as he pointed his spanner at him angrily. "I just finished caressing its body with paint. And I don't feel like doing it the fourth time."

"Your twisted plane obsession is killing time right from under our noses. One set of layer should've been enough." Crossing his arms, Kyuubi leant against the shining surface of the plane's wing. "Unless you forgot, this piece isn't for the stay. So is the reason for stealing it in the first place. Don't get too attached, fool."

"Yeah whatever. But this baby was handed to me, which means – it's mine to love and mine to fuck…that is before I crash it." chuckling at the thought, the madly grinning man pulled the tucked cloth from his pants and cleaned his hands. "Though until that time comes, I want it to be perfect, ya know. And that includes _no_ dirty ass fingerprints."

Rolling his eyes at the crazy plane-obsessed man who pushed him away and started cleaning the part where he left his imprints, Kyuubi pulled out his cell phone and checked the time – only to frown at a blank screen. _'Shit. The battery's dead.'_ "Hey, nut-case, can you lend me your phone?"

"You better not throw it against the wall like you did my last one, bastard!"

"Yea sure." smirking at the 'good' memory, Kyuubi opened the dial and started typing in a number, but stopped as the phone suddenly began ringing.

"Get that will ya?"

With the 'dirty-blond's' yelled out permission, Kyuubi answered, "Yea?"

"Why aren't you picking your phone Kyuubi?"

"Father? Wait… how did you know it was _me_?"

"Takes twenty years of knowing you, boy." Not one to waste time, the mobster went straight to the point, "How's the 747?"

"Hm, need I tell ya? Just as beautiful as ever." smirked Kyuubi, watching as sparks flew from the right wing of the _Boeing 747-8_, on which his men worked. "Though we still need to finish the last engine and do the thorough check on the navigation."

"Is Shukaku done with the 1A10?"

Glancing at the rumbling man still cleaning the mentioned aircraft as if it was the most precious piece of shimmering gold, Kyuubi sighed, "Almost. He still needs some more privacy with it before he goes into another heartbreak."

"Screw You Kyuubi!" shouted Shukaku, overhearing their conversation.

Flipping him off, Kyuubi grinned and dodged Shukaku's thrown spanner. With phone still close at hand, he could almost hear his father's irritated growl at them both – although he couldn't see them, he sure seemed to hear them quite well.

"Tell him I want it in full run within 9hours." ordered Pain.

"Will do." placing his hand over the speaker, Kyuubi gave the message, "Shukaku, Pain sends you his love!"

"Tell him I love him too!"

Chuckling, Kyuubi placed the phone back to his ear only to get yelled at, "I heard it Kyuubi you little brat! Stop twisting my words!"

"Che…no need to be so grumpy, old man. Your senile days are catching up fast without the help of that."

"And that comes from a boy with a squealing voice."

"Sque-squealing? I don't have a damn squealing voice, you old dolt!" half squealed half growled Kyuubi into the phone.

"Of course you don't," smirked Pain, always leaving it to his two charges to lighten his mood. "Anyway, just fix your phone Kyuubi. I've been trying to reach you from the very morning. And I don't feel like doing it the next time. Where've you been by the way?"

"Tsk, nowhere." sticking his lower lip out, mumbled the redhead.

"I guess 'nowhere' is what you call race-wars nowadays, no?"

Jumping at that, Kyuubi gapped, "Wha!? How did you know I was-…" realization was quick to sink in, "Ahhh, daaad! Come on! You're using the freakin' hackers to spy on me through satellites?"

"What was I supposed to do when you're not answering your _damn phone_?" growled Pain.

"I just forgot to charge it! Geez! You don't have to go all NASA on me, ya dumbass parent wannabe!" Kyuubi growled back.

"Stop squealing Kyuubi, it isn't too manly."

"H-HUH?! …What a!? AH, FUCK YOU!" not one known for strong nerves, with a loud roar, Kyuubi smashed the phone against the floor.

"KYUUBI! THAT BETTER NOT HAVE BEEN MY FUCKING PHONE!" screamed Shukaku.

"What are you talking about? Of course it wasn't," kicking the scattered details away, Kyuubi looked up as a low rumble of an engine signaled the presence of an unbidden guest. A dark ash-colored _Lamborghini_ parked next to his car.

Peeking over the plane, Shukaku whistled in impression, "Check out the wheels."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Kyuubi wondered what Sasuke was doing here.

Stepping out of the car, Sasuke looked up at the big plane in the very center of attention before his eyes went to the two men heading towards him. Outstretching his hand, he greeted Kyuubi first,

"Namikaze."

"Kusanagi." nodding to him, Kyuubi then inclined his head to his friend, "You remember Sabaku Shukaku, right? The stupid pilot."

"I'd rather prefer it be an aircraft extraordinaire, thank you very much," shaking Sasuke's hand while sending Kyuubi a mean glare, Shukaku soon shifted his hungry gaze back towards the car. "That's a nice piece of silver you have there."

Smirking, Sasuke looked at his car with pride, "Reaches up to 200 mph in mere seconds."

From the side, Kyuubi snorted and rolled his eyes, not at all gaining any sense of impression.

"Sweet. Mind me checking it a bit…closer?"

"Be my guest." always fresh to anyone who takes interest in his prized possessions, Sasuke allowed the curious man do some 'research' while he himself turned to Kyuubi. Though before any words left Sasuke's mouth, his cell phone rang. Checking the ID, he glanced at Kyuubi, "It's your father."

"Tell him I ain't here." quickly said Kyuubi.

Giving him a strange look, Sasuke flipped his phone open and placed it by his ear. "Hello?"

"Give the phone to my son," came a quick order.

"He's-…"

"Standing right in front of you, Sasuke, now hand him the fucking phone!" not even giving Sasuke a chance to lie for the redheaded brat, Pain shot out a menacing growl which was enough for Sasuke to nearly throw the device at Kyuubi.

Clicking his tongue, Kyuubi hissed at Sasuke, "Sellout." Squeezing then his eyes, he reluctantly placed the receiver to his ear, "Hello?"

"How do you expect me to talk to you if you keep smashing the phones every single time, you damn brat!" yelled Pain.

"Well whose fault do you think is _that_!" gladly Kyuubi yelled back.

Blinking at the commencing vocal exchange between Kyuubi and Pain, Sasuke sometimes forgot how similar the two of them could be, although not genetically related.

"Father-son love, go figure," sniggering in amusement, Shukaku waved Sasuke over. "Don't bother waiting till he finishes, it'll take some time before they finally stop shouting at each other. Buuut, in the mean time, why don't you let me take this baby for a spin?"

Smirking, Sasuke leant against his car's hood, "Hn. That would be a no."

"Aww, come on man!"

Finally done shouting his lungs out, Kyuubi paused to catch his breath.

"You done?" annoyed asked Pain's voice.

"No," retorted Kyuubi stubbornly.

"Well you better be, because I need to ask you a few things before you go out of your way and smash Sasuke's phone as well."

Keeping silent, Kyuubi allowed Pain to continue. "When was the last time you talked to Naruto?"

"A few days ago, maybe more."

"Get in contact with him as soon as you can. Tell him to establish the time of the escape within this week."

"What if he's not ready by then?"

"He'll know what's to come if he's not."

'_Yea…I can already see 'fireworks','_ thought Kyuubi, imagining something similar to a warfare, maybe not so exaggerated but still similar. Chewing on his lower lip, Kyuubi then wondered if he should let his father know a few more things. _'Better tell, unless I want him to have my head instead. Geez, that man never manages surprises well.'_ "Father…in case you're interested, there's gonna be a little addition."

"What kind of an addition?"

"Naruto's adding two more men within the escape, not counting his cellmate."

Pain went silent for a brief second. "Any keepers…from all three?"

Running his tongue over his teeth, Kyuubi smirked, "Just one."

Humming in deep thought, Pain said, "I'll think about it. Call Naruto and tell him of the deadline."

"I will."

"Good. I hope to see you soon, son."

"Of course, dad," shutting the phone, Kyuubi heaved out a deep sigh. _'Naruto… I hope you're ready by then.'_

Heading back to the two conversing men still talking about Sasuke's car, Kyuubi lidded his eyes in boredom at hearing how much praise was shot from one side to another. _'Hm. As impressive a car it is, it will never be a match to my Challenger in speed.'_

"Any particular reason for your presence here?" not one to show off pleasantries, especially to all Naruto's ex-suitors (despite the fact that all of that was already in the long childhood past), Kyuubi regarded Sasuke coldly.

"Naruto's looking for you." informed Sasuke, his attitude matching Kyuubi's equally. None of the two could ever find a common language. "He couldn't reach you through dial and therefore asked me to go and look for your sorry ass."

Smirking at the insult, Kyuubi tossed Sasuke his phone back. "Good timing. I was just planning on seeing him myself." Stepping into his car, Kyuubi halted and looked at Sasuke one more time. "Once this while bustle is over, I don't suppose I'll ever have another eye to eye chat with you like this again, Kusanagi. So in short – I'm just gonna say it was nice that we managed to come to an agreement when it was most needed." smiling at him in any way but kind, Kyuubi's eyes glittered as a reminder, which Sasuke quickly interpreted as the same look he gave him when he was trying to woo Naruto ten years ago. The bastard redhead never gave him a brake after beating him up at even trying to kiss his younger brother.

"Hm. I won't be as quick to say goodbyes if I were you, Namikaze." smirked Sasuke, delighted by the small scowl showing on the redhead's forehead. Sasuke knew that as soon as Naruto's to break free, Pain will make sure to have his family disappear forever (not even Sasuke's to know where they'll be headed), hereby came the meaning of the gigantic plane standing right behind his back.

"Meaning?"

Crossing his arms, Sasuke grinned, "I'm going to come with you."

Kyuubi clenched his teeth. "You always have to complicate things, don't you?"

"With the life I'm running, you get used to it."

"I doubt it. Not that there's a chance of Pain letting you come along anyway, but you do realize that we're not just going for a trip around the world. We're erasing our lives, Kusanagi. A fresh start. You ready to just leave your job and all you've built behind just to have me hunt you down and kill you as soon as I even see you as much as look at Naruto the wrong way?"

"As fun as it all might be, I'm afraid you misinterpret me a bit. I'm not going with you throughout the whole way. This flight just happens to be a beneficial case for me."

"Beneficial?" butting in on their conversation, Shukaku pushed his head from out of _Lamborghini's_ hatch.

"After my vacation I'm getting transferred to America, which, as I'm guessing, is nearby your next departure point?"

"Tch, cheap bastard. You get paid thousands per week yet you try to benefit on our flight's expenses?"

"Well this will be the last time until I see Naruto again, so I have to say my goodbyes. But _you_ can think of it as a little debt settlement." smugly said Sasuke, "After all, you still owe me for wrecking my _Bentley_ with a TV you threw right from the seven storey floor."

"Be glad I didn't cut off your genitals instead." grumbled Kyuubi as a memory flashed back on catching Sasuke once drive Naruto back from school in his new car; and as he watched him walk Naruto all the way to the doors, Kyuubi didn't miss the wondering hand that always had a tendency to fall much lower than his brother's backside. And of course, Kyuubi, as the protective elder, could not _not_ react to that. "Why do you even remember such things? That was three years ago."

"Your 'deeds' are far too great to forget them. Plus, that expressive 'oops' you uttered didn't even come remotely genuine."

Shukaku gave a loud laugh, "Hahahah! That sounds like Kyuubi. The butterfingers who never manages to hold onto a device longer than a damn minute. The violent wreck. Ah! By the way, ya done using my phone, Kyuubi?"

Flinching slightly, Kyuubi forced himself to smile, "Phone? Oh yea! …I'm aaa… I'm gonna borrow it for today, ok? So…yeah…I guess I should be going now." jumping into his car, Kyuubi turned on the ignition and quickly pulled out of the hangar.

"What the heck's his problem?" Turning to Sasuke, Shukaku asked, "Ya plannin' on packin' anything big for the trip?"

"Just this," answered Sasuke gesturing to his car. "How much capacity does this plane have?"

"Heh, enough for elephants to live in, my man. Come, let's check if yer car fits the plane's beauty." joked Shukaku.

Halfheartedly, Sasuke played along, "Hn. And if it doesn't?"

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to place it under confiscation and take it for myself, since it matches my pretty eyes so well."

"Yeah right."

On his way over to the plane, Shukaku's curiosity was suddenly stirred by the many extremely familiar scattered details all over the floor, _'Heh-hey…this one looks like my phone. …Hey wait a minute! THAT IS MY PHONE!'_ "KYUUBI YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

But all that was heard from Kyuubi – was the screeching of tires.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_I am very sorry for the long wait. The beginning of this summer's been a real pain in the head=P But now everything seems to calm down & I managed to get back to the story. I hope that the next chapter will come sooner than this one did;))… _

_Thanx for sticking with me so far:)_

_& a mighty thanks to:_ Terror'23, runes01, itachisgurl93, She who quacks alot, SweetHunniiBunnii, dark-wolf-howl, saya420, Neko86, lulubeck, D. Akisira R. T. M. S. , Spoon10488, wishing-conscious, roxxihearts, Narutopokefan, 00. Indigo. Eyes. 00, Savagehunger47, Elle. Gal, niculascrimsoninsanity, iAvenger, Amethyst Water Lily, starfire200, hotanilover, Apocalyptic Cake, brokenfromthepast, Starzablaze, Empty Thought Bubbles, Winter Psyche, MizzTroublezxx, Winter Sunset & Serpentina Wolfang! XDD

_Replies:  
_Amethyst Water Lily – nah, Sasuke, Madara and Itachi are in no way related to one another. Tsunade & Jiraiya might show up some time later;), but not Konan or Nagato. We'll see…;D

Savagehunger47 – Naruto's family is a hard bunch;)), especially Pain. So in truth, he might show less to no mercy to any of the escapees;DD


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 21**_

* * *

10:40

Spitting rinsed water into the sink, Naruto looked at the mirror and picked his teeth in irritation. "Damn, what did Choji put in that salad? A bunch of nuts?" after have eaten his breakfast, Naruto headed back to the cell to take care of that annoying piece that had stuck between his teeth. Cleaning his hands out with a towel, Naruto blinked as he suddenly picked up sounds of something dripping. Peering at the side of the sink, Naruto frowned when he saw beads of water dripping from the small crack on the sink right next to the hidden hole. "We must've cut the outlet pipe while shifting the sink. Che. This is going to be a real bother."

Standing back up, Naruto gasped in startle as foreign hands suddenly settle on his hips and spun him around. Not a second later, he felt warm soft lips press against his own. His wide eyes quickly met a possessive look of a certain inmate.

"How unlike you, little fish. Being caught off guard so easily." wrapping his arms around the invitingly slim body, Itachi lightly brushed his lips against his captive's, "You should be more aware of your surroundings. We wouldn't want someone to come and have their way with you now would we?"

"Someone like you?" playfully teased Naruto.

Smiling, Itachi gently caressed Naruto's cheek with his thumb. "Maybe," he whispered and claimed the blond's lips once more.

Balling his hands around Itachi's shirt, Naruto shyly parted his mouth to let Itachi deepen the kiss. Silently he wondered whether what he was doing right now was right or wrong. Last night he discovered many things about Itachi, and, embarrassingly so, one of them was that this mysterious man really liked him. _'But can I bring myself to trust him with my feelings?'_

Opening his eyes, Itachi smirked as those blue depths of eyes hid behind the lids and slithered deeper in forbidden pleasure. _'Yes. That's right, little one. You're mine now.'_ Sliding his hands under the white shirt, Itachi groaned as he felt Naruto's tongue wound around his own and graze it with his teeth.

A sudden cry left Naruto's mouth and he pressed closer to the tall man, trying in vain to get away from those greedy hands that went behind his pants and gripped his ass. Itachi was delighted; the little blond was so cute and alluring that he could barely contain himself from pushing them both onto the bed.

"Such a 'nice' sight. I _almost_ feel bad to interrupt."

Naruto's eyes opened wide while Itachi's narrowed in anger. Reluctantly he slipped his hands away from Naruto and turned to regard an equally glaring Shikamaru.

Susanoo might not know it, but Shikamaru was well aware that Itachi and Naruto's relationship had slowly bloomed away from the one-sided affection. Naruto was no longer indifferent to Itachi; so much the blond had admitted to Nara last night after coming from the showers. His poor cellmate was so flushed after being escorted back by that weirdly smiling officer Hatake that Shikamaru did not intermit from questioning him until he confessed every little detail; after which Shikamaru felt sorry he ever opened his mouth.

However, despite the fact that Naruto and Itachi's kiss had went beyond that of a lust, Shikamaru had no intention on stopping his little game of pretend. Susanoo might think that he had won Naruto for himself, but that did not mean Shikamaru had to tuck his tail between his legs and step back like a good puppy. No, he will bite Susanoo in the ass for messing with his possession.

Sharpening his features in a perfect lie, Shikamaru held in a sly smirk and stepped into the cell. Keeping his eyes on shaded red, the 'slacker' wrapped his arms around Naruto and tugged him to his side. That barely audible hiss from Itachi nearly made Shikamaru's grin betray him.

"What are you doing to my boyfriend, Susanoo?" Ignoring Naruto's questioning look, Shikamaru intentionally spread his hands around Naruto's lower back as a sign of possessiveness.

Itachi's eye gave an annoyed twitch. That Nara brat was sometimes irking him just by his mere existence. "Your boyfriend? Hn, I believe that _was_ your position." Shortening what small distance made between them, Itachi rested his hands over Naruto's hipbones, "That thought is more than an allusion now," he said and pulled Naruto to himself.

"Hey watch it!" Naruto gasp an embarrassing squeak as his back collided with muscled front.

Smirking in delight on the inside, Shikamaru frowned for the show on the outside. "Huh? And since when did you come to such an absurd conclusion?" smacking Itachi's hands away, Shikamaru tugged Naruto out of his hold.

However Susanoo didn't let him have the blond and yanked Naruto once more back to his side. "Since last night."

Shikamaru's eyes widened, "You've touched him?"

"No." smirking, Itachi grazed his mouth against Naruto's cheek. "I did more than that."

Baring his teeth in anger, Shikamaru encircled his fingers around Naruto's wrist and forcefully jerked him away from the frowning 'raven'. "I thought I warned you, Susanoo, to stay the fuck away from what's mine!"

"And you thought I'd listen?" snatching Naruto's other wrist Itachi pulled him back.

"Goddammit! What the heck is this? A tug of war?" Pulled from side to side, Naruto was about to implode. They both were acting like spoiled brats, fighting over a toy. And any minute now, Naruto felt like his arms were about to get ripped out, "You idiots, stop tearing me apart!"

Ignoring him, Nara and Susanoo kept glaring at each other.

"That's a low move, Susanoo. You've broken the rule."

"Well it's too bad then. However, the deed has been done. The little one here belongs to me now."

"You sly weasel. I should kill you for messing with my property."

"I'm no _property_, you bastard!"

"Hn. Your property? I beg to differ." Looking down at the ruffled, consternated and angry looking Naruto, Itachi smirked. "Why don't we simply let the little fish decide, who he wishes to have as his owner?"

Blue eyes looked angrily at Itachi. _'Owner? Why you…!'_

Shikamaru cursed, _'Now that won't do.'_ If it's to choose who Naruto wants to be with, then he has a not full 100% guess that it'd be rather Itachi than him and that would mean the end of his little game. _'Now where would my fun go if I let that happen?'_

Not too pleased in the given predicament, Naruto yelled out his displeasure, "You two keep this shit up, and I'm gonna shout _neither_! No…wait! The hell with this bullshit! I don't _need_ a damn owner to begin with!"

Both men looked down at the fuming blond.

"Hm." Shifting his glare to a thoughtful frown, Shikamaru suddenly smirked as an idea came to mind. With one swift movement he had Naruto out of Itachi's reach and pressed against his chest. Covering the blond's mouth with his hand, he rested his cheek against the tanned one, "Neither, Naru-chan? Now that won't do."

Turning his eyes to Itachi, Shikamaru's sneer widened. He could tell how much Itachi wanted Naruto. So much that he would even do reckless things, if that's what was needed in order to get _his little fish_. So why not appease him a bit and let him have a taste of this forbidden fruit. Maybe that way he'll even manage to keep Naruto from ruining his game as well as keep himself hanging on Itachi's nerves a bit longer.

"Seems that our naughty blond is in need of a little lesson in obedience."

Itachi arched an eyebrow, "Our?"

"Aa. Just because you claim your ownership on him, does not mean I'm going to give up mine. I have _yet_ to disown him after all." Sneaking his free hand under Naruto's shirt, Shikamaru pressed himself against Naruto's backside. Naruto's eyes flew open and he screamed at Shikamaru, telling everything he thought about him, which would've been more effective had that hand not been around his mouth.

Itachi was not happy and Shikamaru knew it; Susanoo hated to share – but in order to get what he wants, he'll have to. It would undoubtedly hurt Itachi's pride, but Shikamaru wasn't going to complain. "Tell you what Susanoo. I'll grant you privilege and let you touch him," resting his chin on Naruto's shoulder, Shikamaru traced his lips over the flushed neck without leaving Itachi's heated gaze, "But you'll have to share."

Naruto's eyes bulged out. _'What the fuck, Nara!'_ Naruto knew that Shikamaru would never miss a chance to spite Itachi, but wasn't this going a bit overboard?

Looking up at Itachi for help, Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Itachi's own glare slowly turn into a perverse smirk. _'No way!'_

During years since knowing Nara, the first thing Itachi learned about the man was that he hated him. Nara was just too much like him – sly, possessive and determined (when he really wanted to be). The only difference was his laziness; however, despite his laziness that still didn't stop Nara from keeping his ownership on Naruto, which all in all pissed Itachi to no end. But in the end he couldn't blame the man…for who wouldn't want to have that little blond all for themselves?

Swallowing his pride, Itachi thought that maybe this little sharing thing won't even be so bad, if it's the only way to have the boy. Besides, after hearing Naruto threaten them that he'll choose neither as his owner, Itachi couldn't help but agree with Nara to give the little disobeyer a punishment for that. After all, the previous night had shown that he possessed just as big a privilege over the blond as Nara did, only higher. He would join Nara in this fun; but only this time. In the end, he'll make sure this will be the last time he'll allow Nara to touch Naruto. "Why not."

Naruto screeched, _'WHAAAT?'_

Burying his fingers in Naruto's soft locks, Itachi lightly pulled at his hair and forced the blond's head up. Those wide blue eyes looked so inviting, even more so when they looked a little glassy and scared. "I might as well show you, who is the dominant in this relationship."

Shikamaru cursed himself behind a snicker, _'Shimatta. I think I went a bit too far this time. Just my luck. I kind a hoped he'd decline the offer, but what you gonna do… Sorry Naruto, but bear with me for a while. It'll be too troublesome to have this 'alpha' here think he can outclass me.'_ A wicked grin appeared on Shikamaru's lips and he slid his hands higher up Naruto's shirt, "Sounds fun."

"THE HELL YOU TWO DOING?" Bewildered, Naruto wriggled out of their grip and ran for the exit.

Catching Naruto by the shirt, Itachi quickly twisted him back into his arms and pressed their lips together.

Grabbing onto Itachi's shoulders, Naruto tried pulling him away but suddenly found his wrists snatched into two paler ones and gasped as Shikamaru bit on his neck. Two strong bodies pressed against him, wondering hands exploring his body everywhere the sanity allowed them and the extra assault done to his lips and neck were starting to make Naruto weak in the knees. _'Oh God, what are they doing? And in the middle of a day!'_ the fact that time bothered Naruto more than the action itself made his mind scream in outrage, _'Fuck, I'm turning into a pervert!'_

Breaking the kiss long enough for Naruto to breathe, Itachi sealed their lips once more. Coaxing him to open up for him, Itachi thrust his tongue back inside the blond's moist warm cavern. The feeling of grazing his lips against the blond's while playing with his tongue was amazing, Itachi just wanted to stay like that forever.

Pulling away from the blond's neck, Shikamaru licked the forming bruise. "Lift your arms, Naru-chan."

Giving Shikamaru a nasty sideway look clearing saying 'screw you', Naruto groaned in protest as Itachi took it upon himself to lift his arms and Shikamaru pushed his shirt over his head.

Discarding the article, Shikamaru quickly spun Naruto around and pulled him flush against his chest.

"Shikamaru," a bit breathless, Naruto fostered a small glare, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Shh…don't worry." he whispered before pulling Naruto in a kiss.

Reluctantly, Naruto decided to trust Shikamaru enough to stop them before things went off too far and kissed him back.

Placing his one hand on Naruto's hip and wounding the other across his chest, Itachi leeched himself onto the unmarked side of Naruto neck and rolled his hips forward. Naruto gasped as he felt his ass graze against the man's growing erection and pushed away from the forbidden feeling. Shikamaru hissed as Naruto's hips abruptly rammed into his groin and he instinctively thrust back.

Naruto's mind suddenly shut down as the two men started rocking against him from both sides. The action was not only turning him on, but it was making him crave for more.

"Oh fuck!"

Shikamaru's eyes opened wide and he looked at Naruto. The blond was holding onto his shoulders with a painful grip while being literally sandwiched between him and Itachi, both of whom didn't stop in grinding their nether regions against him. Looking then a bit up, he saw Itachi smirking while he stared at Naruto. The blond's expression was of course one for orgasm – with his mouth opened, eyes closed and back arched. _'Shit,'_ closing his eyes, Shikamaru couldn't believe that he was unable to bring himself to stop anymore. Grabbing Naruto's waist, Shikamaru quickened his pace, rubbing his clothed erect shaft fast against Naruto's. He could feel his orgasm approaching. _'Damn it, Naruto's gonna kill me.'_

Grinding his hips tighter against Naruto's ass, Itachi closed his eyes and savored the feeling. God, he couldn't wait until he was alone with his blond, he'd pound him into the wall.

Digging his nails into Shikamaru's shoulders, Naruto gasped as he came. Shikamaru and Itachi both pressed themselves against the blond and came a few seconds after him. Breathing unevenly, the three inmates slid to the floor, trying to regain their breaths. Luckily enough, the cellblock was nearly empty, only a few prisoners to witness the shameful act, but in truth, none of the three really cared if anyone saw them.

Brushing his loosened hair away, Itachi smirked. He felt a slight wave of satisfaction wash over him, it was exactly what he needed.

Resting against his hands, Shikamaru looked up as Naruto wobbly stood up. "Naruto?"

The slightly shaking boy balled his fists and turned to face the two spent men. "You…you…"

Itachi blinked as Naruto suddenly raised his fist and punched Shikamaru into the cheek. Not a moment later, Itachi found himself get punched and dropped next to the brunet.

"Don't talk to me!" yelled Naruto and stormed out of the cell.

Hissing in pain, Shikamaru rubbed his swelling cheek. "Agh…I knew this was gonna happen."

Licking his cut open lip, Itachi glared at Shikamaru, "So much for your ownership on him."

"Tch. Shut up. You're no better than me."

…

11:49

Within showers…

Scrubbing his hair and body clean, Naruto seethed with anger. In truth he was more angry at himself than he was at the two men who forced themselves on him. The fact that he allowed all that to happen and submitted to the pleasure so quickly really made him mad. _'Damn it!'_ burying his face in his hands, Naruto felt like crying. _'Stupid hormones!'_ Slamming the shower handle close, Naruto marched out of the showers and got dressed. _'Vent. I really need to vent somewhere!'_

…

12:39

Without a care in the world, Kabuto casually strolled in the yard along with the gang. No longer had he any worry for his surroundings as he was always close to Orochimaru's group and a safe distance away from the enemy. So far, he had healed almost perfectly, his eye unfortunately had become a permanent scar, but that no longer matter as he was now back in the game.

Tripping slightly over his feet, he looked down at his untied shoelaces. "Tch. What a bother."

"Hey, Kabuto! Ya coming?" one of Orochimaru's goons yelled at him as they made their way back to the prison.

"Go on. I'll catch up," waving them off, Kabuto kneeled to tie up his laces. "There we go," finished with that, he smirked and stood up.

Suddenly Kabuto gasped as he felt a thin wire-like-string grab hold around his neck and pull him behind the prison. Choking and struggling, he blindly tried to grab around for the force pulling him backwards when suddenly his world went black.

…

13:29

Opening his good eye, Kabuto blinked the fogginess away and checked his surroundings. He was in a familiar dark empty shed.

Trying to stand up, he suddenly realized that he was tied to a chair by shoelaces. "Very funny guys. I feel flattered. But my birthday isn't until another few months."

Hearing no usual sniggers, Kabuto tried to move his hands against the tied knots. "Guys?"

A small shuffling quickly made him look behind, however due to the binds he wasn't able to look too far off. "Kimimaro? That you?"

Grabbing a cloth from the table, his 'abductor' finally stepped out to face him.

Kabuto's eye went wide, "YOU-MMPH-…!" a few words only left him before his mouth was deeply stuffed by the dirty cloth.

"I finally came for you, Yakushi." said Naruto.

…

13:33

Stepping into the yard, Itachi looked around for any signs of the runaway blond. He had already searched for him in the showers and the dining-hall. He doubted he'd have to check the infirmary after 'testing' the boy's fist on himself – the little fish was capable to handle himself fine on his own. Now, only a few places were left to check.

In the far end of the yard, he could see Shikamaru smoking while conversing with Neji and Suigetsu, both of whom didn't look too friendly. If anything, he could see them yelling at him. Not too far from them was his gang, keeping a close eye on the trio. And on the other side of the field he saw Orochimaru's group with their leader in the mid. As for Madara…

"How's it going, Susanoo?" as if called, Madara appeared behind Itachi's back and dropped his arm over the inmate's shoulders.

"Don't touch me." hissed Itachi, still looking around the yard in search of Naruto.

"Well aren't we grumpy this fine day." Trying to follow the silent man's gaze, Madara smirked as he realized what he was doing. "Lost someone?"

"…" Itachi didn't reply.

"Someone with blond hair?"

"…"

Taking Itachi's silence as 'yes', Madara sniggered, "It'd be hard to miss someone like him in a place like this. There aren't that many blonds around here. In truth, I'm curious as well. Where is our little blond?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed as he looked at Madara from the corner of his eye. He was really beginning to despise the word 'our'.

Immune to the anger filled eyes, Madara grinned. "Come to think of it. I haven't seen him around all day, not even with Nara. Did you all get into a fight?" Itachi's glare intensified as where Madara's smirk widened. "My, what's with that look? Could it be that Susanoo-chan's been a bad boy and hurt our little blond's feelings?" The slight flinch of Itachi's eyebrows betrayed his composure and Madara felt nothing but delight over the fact. "Hahahah! It's true, isn't it?"

"…"

"Boy Susanoo. You're just unfair. And right after forbidding me to have a go and break the boy, you go and do it yourself? Oh well, I guess selfishness runs in every man's veins. It can't be helped." Sighing dramatically, Madara looked off to the side with a fake sorrowful expression on his face, "Ahh… I guess I'm just gonna have to go now and _comfort_ the poor little thing myself. You're so mean sometimes, Susanoo, you know that?"

Suddenly Madara let out a pained yell as Itachi grabbed his arm off his shoulder and twisted it around in an impossible angle. "You'll do no such thing, pismire! If I see you even a foot close to him, I'll kill you." Releasing Madara's hand, Itachi walked away.

"Shit man! What's your problem?" yelled Madara holding his sprained hand.

…

13:45

Another scream tore through Kabuto's throat as the fifth finger of his right hand was broken. Unfortunately, the gag was stuffed too deeply into his mouth for an actual sound to come out. The pressure of the blood rushed into his eye sockets as an unimaginable pain was bestowed on his both hands.

Untying the binds off Kabuto's wrists, Naruto pushed his foot against Kabuto's chest, letting him fall to the ground. Kabuto groaned in pain as his head knocked against the hard wooden floor.

"No more use for those arms of yours," said Naruto as he sat on Kabuto's chest. "Tell me, Yakushi. How does it feel, to be unable to move? Unable to protect yourself while getting beaten up?" Ripping the cloth from Kabuto's mouth, Naruto give him enough time to cough out and take in a few good whiffs of breath before pressing his thumb over the pale man's windpipe.

Kabuto's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, trying to fill his lungs with air which just wasn't coming. His eyes were quickly tearing up as the lungs burned. "It's quite a deterrent feeling…don't you think?" Pulling a razor from his pocket, Naruto forced it into Kabuto's mouth and placed it against the con's tongue.

Kabuto's face lost all color.

"I thought that by our first meeting you would understand and keep your distance from me, but I guess I didn't express myself clear enough." Pressing his thumb under Yakushi's tongue and keeping a gentle grip with the razor above it, Naruto forced the slippery appendage out of his mouth. "More so…you even tried to kill me. I guess I'll give you a 'plus' for succeeding…barely."

Kabuto's eyes went wide in sheer panic as Naruto pressed the razor tighter on his tongue and his whole body froze in horror. _'No…no…'_ he tried to plead with his eyes, but received nothing other than hollowed blue stare peering back at him.

"Sorry Yakushi…but I rather have it this way." and with that, Naruto cut the razor into the organ.

Blood oozed all over Kabuto's mouth and he screamed.

…

14:12

Adjusting his wristwatch, Itachi tried to cover his concern. He was getting a bit worried. He hadn't seen Naruto for nearly 3hours now. _'Where are you, little fish?'_ Guilt was more than persistent in bugging out at the matter as he remembered what they did to the blond back in the cell. It probably scared him off. But then again the blond didn't seem to protest that much, did he? And it wasn't like they did anything tremendous. Sighing, Itachi buried his hands into his hair; this was pathetic, why was he looking for excuses? Anyway, it was all Shikamaru's fault for provoking him.

…

14:13

Entering the showers, Naruto pulled his bloodied hands from his pants and took off his clothes. Stuffing them under his armpit, he snuck into the shower unnoticed by other men and cleaned the blood away from himself and where they got onto his pants. Dropping his wet clothes into the laundry case and placing the cleaned razor away in the shelf for bath supplies, Naruto went to gather some spare garments.

A mike cracked, _"Uzumaki Naruto. To the visiting sector."_

…

14:56

Entering the visiting hall, Naruto smiled at seeing his brother there.

After the brief exchange of greetings, Kyuubi pulled away from the hug and wrinkled his nose, "You smell like blood."

Naruto tensed, looking around them, he met eyes with officer Raido and held his breath, but after a while the man looked away at other inmates in the hall. Sighing, Naruto asked, "Is it that obvious?"

"Iie. My senses are just a bit higher than normal." playfully bragged Kyuubi with a smile. "But you shouldn't forget to cleaned behind your nails too the next time you're done," he pointed out.

Naruto sometimes couldn't help but admire his brother's flair. "How do you even know all that?" he asked, cleaning his nails.

"I'm your twin."

"Sure. That explains _everything_." Rolling his eyes in sarcasm, Naruto pouted as Kyuubi just laughed.

Shaking his head, Kyuubi became thoughtful. "Are you sure it was safe? What did you do with him?"

"Oh? You even know who I attacked?"

"Aa. So far I clearly know of only one person you'd gladly bestow your payback on. But still, are you sure it was safe to attack him now?"

Fidgeting uneasily, Naruto couldn't say that it really was the right time for him to attack Kabuto like he did but he really needed to let out some steam. "It won't be long now anyway," he shrugged, not noticing Kyuubi's keen look. "I'll be out before he regains consciousness. And even if he does wake up before that, he won't be able to nor speak, nor write if he's asked about the condition he's in. Broken fingers and torn tongue would be the judge of that."

Dropping the subject for now, Kyuubi moved to more important one. "Father wants to know the exact date."

"What day is it today?"

"Friday."

"I'm planning to get us out on Sunday at night. Around 10pm."

Nodding, Kyuubi waited till the cop walked pass him before he said, "I'll have the car waiting for you half a mile away from the prison. It's northeast from the infirmary wing. B will be waiting for you."

"Hm."

Checking his brother out, Kyuubi crossed his arms over the table. "You okay?"

Hiding his uneasiness, Naruto tried to look indifferent. "Sure. Why not?"

"You look a bit distracted."

Huffing, Naruto rested his chin on his hand. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Did something happen between you and those two inmate-friends of yours?"

Naruto flinched, this time cursing Kyuubi for his flair.

…

16:03

Murmuring to himself about his stupid brother having no sense of differentiation between compassion and scoffing, Naruto grouchily sat down on the vacant bench. "I should've just kept my mouth shut about that. No! I should've just hit him in the face! Stupid Kyuubi. I can't believe he even asked me which one I thought got the biggest fucking package." Moaning, Naruto lay down.

A moment later he felt a shadow drop down on him and he opened one eye. Quickly recognizing those ebony eyes, his brows furrowed and he looked away.

"Still angry?" asked Itachi, coming to kneel beside the blond.

"…"

"Would you at least look at me?"

"Hmph!" closing his eyes, Naruto shot his nose up.

Itachi couldn't help but smile at such a childish action. "If I apologize…, will you speak to me?"

Naruto's eyes opened and he looked at Itachi. To think that someone like Itachi would even suggest such a thing was unheard off.

Smiling lightly, Itachi reached out and caressed Naruto's cheek, "I'm sorry."

Naruto blinked, _'Wow. Some wonders do exist.'_

"I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't mean to hurt you by my actions, if that's what you felt. Will you please forgive me?"

Still a bit shocked by such a soft treatment coming from the prison's devil himself, Naruto looked down on Itachi's split lip. Not that he didn't deserve it, but it sure looked painful. Reaching out, he gently traced the cut with his fingers, "Does it still hurt?"

Taking the outstretched hand, Itachi laid a soft kiss on it, "Nothing hurts more than a deserved blow."

"Sorry."

"It's not you who has to ask for forgiveness, little fish." sighing, Itachi ran his fingers through his hair in a slight act of frustration and discomfort; not too sure what exactly to say and why he was even putting so much effort into all this in the first place. Sometimes he could swear that the little blond had him wrapped around his little finger without even knowing it.

The man looked lost. Naruto chuckled, this façade was so unlike that of a Susanoo. But then again, whenever they were alone, he tended to discover many interesting things about this mystery of a man. Perhaps he was just too much of a prideful entity to let others see his weakness. _'He sure is a troublesome man.' _Pulling himself up, Naruto gently cupped Itachi's cheeks.

Itachi blinked in surprise as he suddenly felt a soft little peck settle on top of his lips.

Pulling away, Naruto smiled at a somewhat comical expression on Itachi's face. "Does it still hurt?" he asked, looking at the bruised lip.

Slowly, Itachi nodded his head.

"Do you want me to kiss it again?"

Without delay, Itachi nodded again.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Shameful note: I'm so sorry again for not updating in so long. The time is just never right with me, as always, and I'm not sure when I'll upload the next chp again (or when I'm going to write it;)), but I'll try not to linger. Still, thank you for enduring me XDD_

_& a Huge Thanx to:_ Miyuki1393, brokenfromthepast, itachisgurl93, Crazy Ninja Lover, Terror'23, saya420, sousie, lulubeck, 7thDwarf, Winter Sunset, Princess1heart1Hubby, Savagehunger47, Narue-Nara-chan, SweetHunniiBunnii, She who quacks alot, niculascrimsoninsanity, Addicted-to-the-Madness, mikyu, Serpentina Wolfang, Outfox you, ElleGal, xdevil-childx, The Winggoddess, Zwnohyun, Melikalilly, AnjoRemix, animeloverjess14, Requisite, deathgod-121 & skyglazingMaro! ;DD


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter 22**_

* * *

13:20

Running his thumb over the flint-wheel of his lighter, Shikamaru felt a sudden sense of bitter frustration go down on him as he found himself sinking deeply within his thoughts.

His life was supposed to be easy. Make his parents proud by graduating school; get a decent job, which hopefully didn't require too much work but earned him enough money to buy that damn car he always wanted; and in the end settle a normal life with his girlfriend.

Instead, his dream for normal life went down the hill the moment his family ties broke.

Striking a fire, Shikamaru lightened his cigarette with a good whiff of air.

His father went off and joined the army, his mother abandoned him and in that little moment of weakens during his life when everything seemed to turn against him, Shikamaru succumbed to crime.

Blowing out a smoke, the young Nara sighed out a troublesome conclusion, "My life is a bastard."

But even though his dream did go down faster than it was created, one thing was still worthwhile. Despite the brutal destiny, he succeeded in realizing a part of his dream. He did get that car he wanted. But in the end, it only served as an extra penalty to his already crime filled record and set him off to jail. "Tch, well at least it was fun while it lasted." And now he was stuck in jail for thievery with two more years till his discharge. He already passed three years in his cell, two more didn't sound that bad for him. With time, he got used to the area and even made his own gang. He was patient enough to sit back and wait until the end of his punishment. He accepted that fact and stood within silence, until _he_ showed up and Shikamaru's world turned upside down once more.

Naruto. His new little troublesome cellmate. He didn't know what to expect from that man the moment he entered his cell. Naruto came as a mystery to him and at some point he still remains.

It took him only a couple of days to realize that Naruto is just as dangerous as he is tricky. Not to mention that he practically holds a trigger against him. Shikamaru knows that as soon as they're to break out, the safety will be off, and he'll be under the red radar. Question is, could he really trust Naruto enough to risk his own life? What if the little bastard turned tables on them all and killed them as soon as they're outside the prison walls?

How could he trust Naruto? That man had crushed his peaceful world by placing them all under a great risk. The breakout. When he first found out of it, Shikamaru wouldn't say that he was too angry, but it was still a selfish act from Naruto's part. He had come and basically turned their cell into the center of a 'death penalty' without his consent. Two options were hanging in his head during that time. On the one hand he wanted to shout and kick Naruto out of his cell, but on the other – he was actually glad the troublesome blond had fallen exactly into his cell. The thought of breaking out of the ever prestige Konoha prison sounded like a thrilling challenge. Years he had left until he's freedom didn't matter anymore. All he could see was a chance to break Konoha's grand walls with his own two hands. Consequences be damned.

Regardless of his lazy nature, Shikamaru was a gambler. He liked taking risks. Those were always rewarding him with a desirable adrenalin racing through his body. The feeling was ecstatic. But now, for some reason, he didn't feel too sympathetic with that risk anymore. Too many 'ifs' where starting to show up. And the first of them was concerning his new family. _'I'm gonna be a father.'_ that notion alone brought a whole new meaning to his life, because it wasn't just about him anymore, it was about his child as well. Whatever he does from now on influences his offspring as well. And that counts his _every_ decision, including the jailbreak…

'_What am I to do?' _Placing his cigarette back into his mouth, Shikamaru snapped out of his thoughts when he heard someone calling his name.

"Long time no see, _Nara_." Neji and Suigetsu had approached him, and by the looks of it, they weren't here for a friendly chat.

'_Great. Just what I need…, more headaches.'_ "Such formalities," staring at them both with a cautious gaze, Shikamaru didn't bother to ask why they addressed him by his last name. He already had a good hunch. "Am I to assume there's something on your minds, you two?"

"A simple curiosity really." indifferently shrugged Suigetsu, however his look remained firm, something that was usually a rare thing.

'_Curiosity, huh…'_

"You've been rather elusive lately, Shikamaru. Do gang meetings not look too appealing to you anymore? Or is there some other reason for you avoiding us?" asked Neji. "Mind explaining what's going on?"

Swallowing half of the smoke down while blowing the rest out through his nose, Shikamaru remained passive. "There have been a few changes the past few days. Nothing to worry about, I assure you."

"Ah, that simple huh?" Suigetsu's smug smirk showed Shikamaru that he wasn't taking his words seriously and was just trying to tick him off.

"If there's something you want to know clearly, Suigetsu, then spill it out! I don't need you wasting my time."

The man's smirk slightly fell. "Fine then. What I would like to know is – what the _fuck_ is going on with your fucking head!"

The other's sudden yell startled Shikamaru. "What do you mean?"

"Oh cut this shit, man! Isn't it obvious? I'm talking about those two murderers you're hanging around. Madara and Itachi! No, you know what – fuck Itachi! What I really want to know is _why the hell_ are you anywhere _near_ Madara! Why haven't you killed him already! After they closed the Mizuki case, you already had like ten chances to do that!"

"Suigetsu, shut up!" as one of the few who didn't like drawing attention, Neji silenced the loudmouth up before the entire prison took interest in their conversation. "Shikamaru. It's not just us. The whole prison is in disturbance. Rumors have spread throughout the walls, claiming that you three are planning something behind everyone's backs. Uchiha, Susanoo and you. Three of the most contradictory leaders in the prison, who should have nothing in common other than declaring war upon one another, are binding. It's only natural that inmates are feeling anxious seeing you three together. It's disturbing the balance of the gang population."

Forgetting about the cigarette in his hands, Shikamaru stared into Neji's eyes, trying and so far failing to come up with the best excuse to his current predicament.

"What is going on, Shikamaru?" asked Suigetsu. "Both of you are on the same boat. What are you not telling us?"

Shikamaru looked at them perplexed, "Both?"

"Susanoo." explained Neji, "Same as _you_, he's keeping quite." the stress on 'you' was clearly spoken out with more accusation than the rest of the sentence. It was painfully obvious that his friends were angry with him.

'_So they already know about Itachi's gang too huh? His goons probably felt a little left out and turned to mine for any stray information.'_ It was a bit amusing; both their gangs were teaming up against their leaders. Not that I was a good thing whatsoever. _'I wonder if Itachi told his gang anything about Madara. Not like these two asses here are going to tell me what he said if they knew. I'm pretty sure I've already lost the right of the leader, no use checking it out for conformation.'_ Flicking the half smoked cigarette away, Shikamaru sighed. _'What a pain. I guess I won't be able to get away with easy lies anymore.'_

"Reason for us all coming together so often, is because Susanoo and I are keeping an eye on Naruto." finally said Shikamaru. "You can vaguely assume that we're protecting him."

Neji and Suigetsu exchanged looks. One was doubtful while the other one was conservative.

"Protecting him? I never knew he needed any protection. Being the hotshot he is."

"I wouldn't say that, Neji." Suigetsu contradicted, "It's true that boy has fire in him. But I doubt it'll be of any help when it comes to Madara. He nearly got himself raped by that madman not too long ago. Remember? Shikamaru and Itachi might just be the right type of men to protect his sweet virgin ass. No wait. He no longer needs to worry about _that_, does he, Shikamaru?" tauntingly Suigetsu wiggled his eyebrows at the frowning Nara.

"Suigetsu!"

"Aaanyway, I think I'm gonna side with Shika on this one, Neji."

The long haired brunet rolled his eyes at the bipolar goon. _'And just a second ago he was all out declaring how he was going to beat our leader to the ground.'_

"That blond might be tough," continued Suigetsu, "But I doubt he can be strong enough to kill. And the only way to deal with Madara is by killing him, which obviously _you_, Shikamaru, have _still_ failed to do! Which reminds me – _why the fuck didn't you do it already_!"

"Because, you idiot…" pausing for a second, Shikamaru quickly tried to gather his thoughts and come up with a pretty believable explanation, "…Naruto needs him alive."

That lie worked well enough. Neji and Suigetsu both looked surprised at him, which was a good sign.

'_Well at least that worked. Sorry Naruto, but in truth, it's your fault that I'm in this mess to begin with. So don't be mad at me if I use you in such a manner.'_

"Why?" asked Neji, obviously perplexed why Naruto would need Madara. The blond hardly knew him. "Is he in some kind an accord with that man?" Could it be that the blond was going behind their backs and teaming up with the serial killer?

Shikamaru shook his head, "No. That's out of the question. He hates Madara."

"But then why does he need him _alive_?" asked Suigetsu impatiently.

"Evidently, Madara has something he wants. I don't see any other reason he has for him."

"What is it that he needs?" asked Neji.

"I don't know."

Neji and Suigetsu regarded their leader like he was crazy. "And why don't you know?" asked Neji.

"Susanoo and I are just there to keep Madara at a safe distance from Naruto. That's the only reason why we're constantly being sighted all together. What Naruto and Madara are discussing is none of my concern."

"So what are you? Bodyguards now?" an empty smirk crossed Neji's lips, "Forgive me when I don't believe you. It's unlikely for someone like you or Susanoo to simply protect Naruto without knowing the details of his connection to Madara. Aren't you even worried that he might have some kind of collusion with that killer?"

Shikamaru's eyes visibly darkened, "I trust Naruto. And when he asks me not to interfere, I respect his request. Unless you forgot, Naruto isn't _just_ my cellmate, Neji." pointedly stated Shikamaru, reminding that he was also the blond's 'boyfriend'. "And as for Susanoo. I believe it's no more a secret that his interest in Naruto is no less than my own."

"My…how protective and faithful you've become." dryly scorned Neji. "You're even willing to go so far as to put your own life against two of your most hated enemies for that boy? You barely know him Shikamaru." Neji was not convinced.

"Then I'm afraid you don't know me as well as you may think, Neji."

The proud man's eyes narrowed observantly. Their leader wasn't telling them the entire truth, that much he could tell.

"But that only goes to show that we can't trust you as much as we used to before, doesn't it?"

Shikamaru's eye twitched. Suigetsu had hit the nail on the head with that. "Your point is, Suigetsu?"

Huffing at Shikamaru's indifferent attitude, Suigetsu glanced at Neji before saying in a bitter tone, "My point is…dear _leader_…that if there's anything you're trying to hide from us, we'll find it."

Shikamaru lowered his eyes as the two finally left him alone. _'I hope you don't.'_

…

Turning to look over his shoulder, Suigetsu narrowed his eyes in a small frown as he watched their leader reach out for another cigarette. "What do you think?"

Neji closed his eyes in a silent thought, "Nothing good. Shikamaru is obviously hiding something."

"Didn't the thought that he's doing it in order to protect someone cross your mind? Maybe it's best if we don't stick our noses into this situation. At least not this time. He looks fairly troubled by whatever it is he's in for right now."

"Yes. That's exactly what I was thinking. But…"

Urging him to go on, Suigetsu wondered why he suddenly stopped. "But what?"

"Don't you suppose that he's actually doing something out of selfishness? And that frustrating look on his face is nothing more than a sign of anxiety?"

"No, I don't want to suppose it."

"Hmph. Tell that to yourself when it's too late." Shikamaru might be a shirker, as everyone in the prison knew him as, but Neji also knew that by nature he could become one egoistic shirker.

…

16:22

Standing with his back against the fence, Naruto and two of his escapees silently watched officers shout orders to each other as they carried deadly pale and badly beaten prisoner from within the shed.

A low whistle of impression quickly alerted them of Madara. "I'll be damn. Did you see what happened to Kabuto? Poor ass-kisser sure got a hell of a beating today."

Grunting in reply, Itachi looked back at the unconscious Yakushi, wondering who could've maimed him so. Deformed fingers and small streams of blood still trickling out of the corners of Kabuto's mouth wasn't the kind of assault he had yet been familiar with throughout his stay in the prison. This performance was something new to him.

Slipping between Itachi and Shikamaru, Madara leant against the fence close to Naruto to enjoy the 'show'. A giddy feeling settled in his gut as he looked at his three 'partners', "So… does any of you have anything to do with it?"

"Why would you care?" asked Naruto, his fingers subconsciously running over the screw he was always keeping in his pants pocket. Sometimes an urge to bring it out and put it to good use on a certain inmate was so tempting that he admired his self restrain.

Catching the slight suppression in undertone, Madara's eyes twinkled in frenzy, "So it _was_ one of you, wasn't it?"

Itachi and Shikamaru both looked at Naruto, their inquisitiveness was no less than Madara's. Both knew that neither of them had attacked Kabuto, since it wasn't their type of style. So that only left Naruto, unless it was someone else. But Kabuto didn't have many other 'life threatening' enemies aside from them.

Naruto glared as they all looked at him dubiously. "What?" he snapped.

Madara burst laughing, shaking his head in denial, "No no no. I'll admit that _pumpkin_ here has a feisty attitude but I doubt he could cripple someone like that. Although I am curious who did that to him. Kabuto never looked so bad before. Not even when I dealt with him…"

Tuning out Madara's insane glee, Shikamaru analyzed Naruto critically, "I know you have a strange _fetish_ when it comes to bone breaking. But seriously, would you really go this far?"

"Little fish. Was it you who did this?" Itachi asked, slight incredibility clear in his voice.

The shorter inmate's glare just became a bit more intensified. Why was it so hard for them to imagine that he was capable of something so violent? "Are you surprised?"

Shikamaru and Itachi's eyes widened and they glanced back at Kabuto's bloody look.

Madara's obscene smile fell. Remembering Kabuto's maimed look he managed to see up close, his eyes warily stared at the blond. _'Well what'd you know… the little uke is just as insane as the rest of us.'_ Smirking at the thought, Madara inwardly purred in approval. _'Yes. That just makes me all the more harder.'_

As soon as Kabuto's body was carried away, Shikamaru couldn't help but notice how other inmates started whispering amongst themselves while shooting various looks in their direction.

"We should go." feeling uneasy, he took Naruto's hand and pulled him towards the prison.

…

20:54

Turning the shower handles off, Naruto grabbed his necklace from the counter and silently headed for the dressing room. Passing by that creepy officer Hatake on the way, who gave him a deliberate smirk, he hurriedly went to get himself dressed.

As soon as the last of the inmates left the changing room, Naruto couldn't help a slight shiver that he felt when the doors to the room closed with a loud echo, telling him that there was no one else left but him. Shaking the uneasy feeling away, Naruto finished pulling the shirt on and with a gentle pet on his moist hair headed out of the room.

Walking pass the showers, Naruto frowned when he saw no sight of officers nearby. _'The badges sure are getting flippant.'_

Pushing the entrance doors open, Naruto suddenly gasped as someone grabbed him around the waist and covered his mouth. A small yell barely managed to escape his lips before he was pulled into a strong body and was quickly shushed by a familiar velvet voice.

"Hush, little one. Wouldn't want the guards coming running in now, would we?" recognizing the voice, Naruto relaxed and pulled the hand off his mouth.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed silently, careful enough not to raise his voice.

"Me? Why I'm kidnapping you," without much of an explanation, Itachi took Naruto's hand in his and pulled him back to the dressing room.

"Where are we going?" asked Naruto, all the way glancing warily behind himself.

Taking out a key from his pocket, Itachi lead them to the far end of the changing room where an adjourned metal door was. "Someplace."

"You know that doesn't really help much," pouted Naruto.

Smirking to himself, Itachi opened the doors. The lock opened under a soft clunk and the doors groaned open. Naruto felt himself grow nervous as he was pulled into a fairly dark room. As far as he could tell they were in some kind of a secluded cell sector. Empty prison cells were covering the long hallway which was barricaded by steel doors from both sides. The cells themselves had primitive locks that kept the bar doors close. And fixed beds were hanging off the walls right under the small restricted windows.

A bit taken by the sight, Naruto jumped in surprise when the doors closed behind him with a heavy slam. Turning around he visibly swallowed as he met Itachi's eyes, illuminated by what little light that was given from the confined windows. Regardless of how dark they looked, he could see them shine with life. A light click of the lock quickly alerted him that he was not there just for the hell of it.

Leaving the key inside the lock, Itachi advance, "Nervous, little fish?"

Swallowing again, Naruto's throat burnt from dry saliva. Admittedly, he felt very nervous. The hint was clear enough to understand what Itachi was aiming for. But that however, was what was keeping Naruto in his current dilemma. He wasn't sure if he was ready for it yet. "Wh-where are we?" he asked, trying to distract himself…and Itachi for that matter.

"We're in a closed sector. This is the last remnant of what cells used to look like before the new project was established. Cells were rather depressing during late times." Itachi's eyes lidded tauntingly, "Not as comfortable or private once inmates got intimate."

Naruto's cheeks turned pink. "Aa… I'm sure it was a major problem for most of you perverts out there."

Delicately Itachi arched his brow; the corner of his lips just turned a bit more up. "Iie. I'm sure _we_ perverts could bear to live with that, unlike _you_ little ukes." Placing his hands on Naruto's hips, Itachi frowned when the blond suddenly flinched before relaxing again. It was meant as a joke when he asked about Naruto's nervousness, but now it seemed that it had taken a different turn. "You okay?" rubbing his thumbs soothingly over the sharp hips, Itachi searched Naruto's eyes for any leads.

"Y-yeah," scratching his neck nervously, Naruto cleared his suddenly rusty throat, "Umm… Are you sure w-we're supposed to be here? I mean, the guards could come by any minute looking for us."

Amused, Itachi shook his head. The boy had the very epitome of criminal offence going about inside his cell, and he was actually worried about them getting caught here?

"Is it such a terrible crime if I want to spend some time alone with my cute boyfriend?"

"Not unless it's in an off-limits area." pent-up replied Naruto.

"Let me worry about that," impishly said Itachi and pulled Naruto closer by the waist.

"Wait." Pushing against Itachi's chest, persistently Naruto tried to slip away from him, "What if someone hears us?"

"I said let _me_ worry about that," steeling his hold, Itachi pulled Naruto back, pressing their bodies flush close.

"But Itachi."

"There is no need to worry. Those are steel doors. No one will know we're here."

"But what about-…"

"Naruto." silencing Naruto by the mere mention of his name, Itachi brushed the blond bangs out of his face, "Please shut up." Denying Naruto a chance to protest again, Itachi pressed their lips together.

Moaning in want and denial, Naruto's mind went astray. It was never fair how good that man was when he kissed.

Itachi himself was no different. There was just something unique about the blond that he just couldn't get enough of. Grasping the edges of Naruto's white shirt, Itachi reluctantly pull away from that delicious mouth and pulled the shirt over his head.

Naruto squeaking unintentionally, "No… Wait. What are you doing?"

"Undressing you." Pulling his own shirt off and throwing it to the side, Itachi drew Naruto back to kiss him.

"A-are we going to…"

"Yes."

"But can we at least-…"

"No."

"But Itachi, I…I…" Itachi shushed him with another long kiss. Naruto started to feel lightheaded. Feeling of heat and anxiety was driving him crazy. _That man_ was driving him crazy. He could barely think straight whenever he touched him.

Gliding his hands over the shivering body, Itachi groaned in approval as goosebumps rose on that unusually soft skin from his touch alone. Furtively he slid his finger under the waistband of Naruto's pants and slowly tugged them down.

Naruto almost gave way to the lust until he felt his pants being pushed over his ass. "No!" with a startled yell he broke the kiss and pushed Itachi away. Taking in quick deep breaths, Naruto tried to calm himself from the insanity of fervor he was feeling in every fiber of his body. "No," he whispered more clearly now.

Itachi watched Naruto with a worried frown. What did he do wrong? "Naruto?"

Clenching the bonds of his pants shakily, Naruto felt himself lose part of his ability to speak and quickly averted looking Itachi directly in the eyes.

"Naruto." taking his chin, Itachi turned Naruto's head back to face him. But those watery sapphire eyes refused to meet his. Something painful clenched inside of Itachi's heart. "What's wrong? What's unsettling you?"

Once more Naruto tried to make up a sentence but failed and looked down.

Finally realizing what the problem was, Itachi's eyes widened. It should've been obvious but with that bastard Nara always wondering nearby he never knew. "You're a virgin?"

Naruto closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He didn't want to hear those words aloud. He already felt as embarrassed as it was. 'Virgin', the sound of it alone always made him think that he had to feel responsible for being a failure at a part of his passing teen life. Clenching his fists, Naruto freed himself from Itachi's arms. "Yes I am!" he suddenly shouted. "And so what? At least I'm not whoring myself around like most of the world! I may not be perfect or have the best looks, but at least…at least once I find that one person I want to spend the rest of my life with, I will be able to devote my entire self to them. I mean… it may not seem much, but what else is there I can give? I…I dignify and respect myself for that. What do _you_ have to offer? …"

Cupping Naruto's cheeks and cutting the rest of his rant off, Itachi pulled him in for a long loving kiss.

After a couple of more sweet kisses, Itachi finally pulled away with a small laugh, "My silly silly little fish. Why would you assume that I'm mocking you? Frankly I'm glad to hear those words coming from you." brushing away unshed tears from underneath Naruto's eyes, Itachi kissed his forehead and embraced him.

Pouting lightly at himself for jumping to conclusions, Naruto reluctantly encircled his hands around Itachi's bare shoulders and rested his head on the man's chest, hearing strong but steady beats of heart that calmed him down.

"I'm sorry. I did not know. I'm sorry if I scared you into doing something you're not ready for."

Looking at Itachi with surprised eyes, Naruto saw nothing but serenity in him and perhaps a small tingle of longing and hidden desire. Biting lightly onto his swollen lip, Naruto felt his cheeks redden under that intense stare.

Itachi was such a strange man. He could be very aggressive and possessive one minute and then sweet and caring the other. He was carried by such strange and powerful emotions, Naruto sometimes couldn't help but feel scared. There was so little he knew about Itachi. In fact, he doubted he knew him at all. He didn't even know why he was in the prison to begin with. What crimes he committed… What he did… Thinking about reasons and who Itachi really was frightened Naruto, and frankly he didn't want to know them, because he feared it would ruin everything. But then, how could he trust him, if he didn't know him?

Sliding his hands from Itachi's shoulders, Naruto rested them on his chest, feeling with his right hand the beats of the pulsing heart.

"Itachi…," Naruto crushed the last sense of hesitation in himself and asked, "Who are you?"

The pulse of the steady beats suddenly contracted and Naruto felt Itachi's heart pick up speed under his fingertips. Looking into the man's vivid dark eyes, Naruto froze as he saw them suddenly bend in an emotionless and empty black. Although their eyes were staring directly into one another, Naruto could tell that Itachi wasn't looking at him anymore. Worry quickly seeped in and Naruto reached his one hand for Itachi's cheek. Suddenly Itachi's eyes closed and he grabbed Naruto's wrist before it touch his face. A small gasp left Naruto's lips at the strong grip Itachi had on his wrist, but the feeling of pain was quickly subdued as Itachi loosened his hold and brought Naruto's hand to his mouth. His lips brushed the inside of Naruto's palm in a gentle kiss.

"Forgive me. But I don't think I'm ready to answer you that question." Opening his eyes, Itachi smiled at the light dusk of pink on Naruto's cheeks. He was such a cute little one; Itachi never wanted to see him sad. "But I will," he promised, "Someday." Letting Naruto go, Itachi stepped away and went to retreat their discarded shirts. Naruto wasn't ready for him and Itachi could understand. If counting hours or waiting days was what it's going to take to have Naruto willing, then Itachi was going to wait.

As he stared at Itachi's back, Naruto felt lost. A strange feeling was welding up in his entire being, making his heart beat under fast painful rhythms, craving for things it did not have the ability to voice out. It confused him, because despite its loud troubling, the feeling was strangely pleasant.

Naruto's eyes were almost caught wondering as Itachi turned to him. With cheeks blushing and chin cast down, he fought to ignore the butterflies floating in his stomach as those red shaded eyes met his once more.

It was so alien. Just a small glimpse at those vibrating dark pools made his knees weak and his heart throb.

With a smile Itachi handed Naruto his shirt. "Come. We better get back to our cells before the call."

It must have been some time before Itachi's words finally registered in Naruto's head.

Who Itachi was… what he had done… and what he could do… all that suddenly didn't seem to matter. Naruto was good when it came to reading people. His instincts were always on his side, telling him when there's danger and when there's salvage. And eyes were the main key to Naruto's talent. When looking at Itachi, one thing he could tell almost certainly – those weren't the eyes of a real murderer. They showed too many dear emotions for a man who could commit a bloodthirsty crime.

Stammering a delayed apology, Naruto took his shirt from Itachi's hand. An involuntary shiver ran down his spine as their fingers brushed in a teasing touch. There it was again; that strange feeling, making him feel all fuzzy (unnervingly so) and warm again.

It was in his nature to feel cautious and aloof whenever touched by someone other than his loved ones. So it surprised Naruto, because Itachi wasn't one of them and yet he made him feel such a strong surge of pulse just by a mere touch.

Looking into the taller man's eyes, Naruto gulped at the sight of those invitingly dark depths which he was sure could pull out one's soul with just one blink. Itachi wasn't a family and he wasn't a friend… he was something else.

Dropping the shirt, Naruto corrected himself, _'Iie, he's something more.'_ With just one step and a tiptoed reach, Naruto threw his arms around the confused man and kissed him with all emotions he felt. Confusion, care, desire, fear, and somewhere amongst them – a portion of love.

Letting his own shirt slip through his fingers, Itachi quickly redeemed his shocked state and pulled the blond closer.

Opening his mouth to the probing hot tongue, Naruto whimpered in need as Itachi wasted little time to reacquaint with every nook and cranny of his warm cavern. Losing complete track of time, Naruto had no idea how long they stayed connected like this or how he ended up pushed against the cell bars.

Pulling away as soon as they both felt their lungs burn, Itachi breathed out in pants, "Naruto. What are you doing?"

Just as breathless and shocked, Naruto shook his head, "I don't know."

Chuckling at such an earnest and innocent reply, Itachi caringly ran his fingers through moist blond locks. Sometimes he just didn't get it. How could such little insignificant things affect him so much? Kissing Naruto chastely on the lips, Itachi pressed their foreheads together. "You are so interesting, my little fish."

Naruto laughed timidly. "And you're a mystery."

"Oh? How so?"

"I know so little about you, and yet, sometimes I can't help but want…to be with you."

Not sure how and why but with every next word Naruto spoke, it just made Itachi that more happier than he already was. With a quick tug he hugged Naruto tightly and buried his nose in his neck. "Have you any idea what you're doing to me?"

"As long as it's something good I'm content."

Itachi smiled. Was there ever an end to the amount of happiness one person could have?

Resting his head against Itachi's shoulder, Naruto released a small sigh. He just wanted the time to stop for a few hours and let him bask in this wonderful feeling of content. But that was unlikely to happen.

"Naruto?" kissing the top of his head, Itachi tried to coax Naruto to let him go and get dressed. It was not as much because of the coldness in the room as it was for the alleviation of his suddenly growing 'needs'.

Naruto shook his head and tightened his arms around Itachi, which did not help the man in the least. "I feel warm enough."

'_But _I'm_ starting to feel really hard!'_ inwardly cursed Itachi.

Resting his cheek on Itachi's shoulder, Naruto draw invisible patterns on the man's skin. There were so many things flying about in his head, so many questions he wanted to ask and all was concerning this mysterious convict that he felt so safe with. "Itachi?"

"Hm?"

"Tell me. …Can I trust you?"

Not expecting such a question Itachi fell silent. _'Trust…'_ It was such a naïve word. Taking a hold of Naruto's shoulders Itachi pulled him at arm's length. "Is it really a question you should ask someone like me?"

"Someone like you? So who are you?" Naruto did not miss the way Itachi swallowed.

The raven-haired man porously ignored the last question. "As a convict, surly my answer will be that you can trust me. But as a lover – I cannot answer that question." Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion. Itachi continued, "Trust is something you have to _give_ once it is earned."

Shikamaru had warned him that Itachi was a smooth talker and could easily allure his prey with just a couple of sweet words. But as he stood now right before him, Naruto knew that Itachi was being honest. Naruto just had to be sure…

"Are you lying to me, Itachi?"

Itachi's eyes slightly widened. Naruto had never looked at him with such intensity as he did now. Those eyes, that reflected only the purest of azure, had suddenly gained a flaming sparkle. It was surprisingly intimidating and unbearably arousing. However, Itachi wasn't someone who knew fear well.

"No." he answered. His stare hardened at Naruto daringly, defying him to doubt him.

A minute went by as they just stood and stared at each other. The aura radiating about was everything but uncomfortable. No fidgeting no nervousness, it was just a calm of unpressured silence.

Naruto's self-build barriers started to crack. No more hesitation was in his movements as he raised his hands and ran them gently through Itachi's hair. He watched in satisfaction as the man easily leaned into his touch. Lightly taking one of the hands into his own, Itachi kissed it.

The last of restrains finally broke between them and Naruto leaned up, resting his lips lovingly on Itachi's.

Just like a kiss between two lovers it went gentle at first, but soon it turned into something more passionate and uncontrollable.

Grabbing Naruto's hips, Itachi slammed him against the cell bars. A small hiss of pain and moan that left Naruto's lips sent turmoil of remorse in Itachi's gut, but before he could apologize Naruto grabbed his hair and silence him with another deep kiss.

Pulling the hair band out of Itachi's hair and letting it roll over his wrist, Naruto sighed approvingly as he buried his fingers into that long silken hair. It felt like a feather to his touch.

Taking a hold on Naruto's thighs, Itachi hoisted him higher against the bars. Both hissed as their arousals rubbed through the thin layer of their pants.

Pressing their pelvises together and taking a secure hold on Naruto's buttocks, Itachi rested his forehead against Naruto's shoulder before whispering, "Wrap your legs around me."

Doing as told, Naruto suddenly yelped and arched as Itachi grind into him without any warning. He groaned in pain as his head accidentally hit the hard steel and he looked up at the strong bars imbedded into the ceiling.

Smirking in vengeance, Naruto pulled his hands up and gripped the bars with both hands. Locking his legs tightly around Itachi's waist, Naruto exerted his muscles and ground into Itachi with harsh force.

Itachi gasped in both surprise and sudden pressure, nearly dropping them both to the ground. _'Little imp.' _Glaring at the smirking blond, Itachi fisted his hand into Naruto's hair and forced him to bare his neck as he sank his teeth into the soft flesh.

Yelling in pain and pleasure, Naruto instantly pulled Itachi closer, grinding into him with new fervor.

Both panted as their hips worked against each other heatedly. Naruto was lost in passion. He was desperately gripping the bars for support while arching his entire body to the sinful pleasure. Such a sight Itachi wanted imbedded into his mind forever.

Licking Naruto's neck, Itachi dropped little teasing kisses all over the exposed skin till he descended against Naruto's lips. Eagerly opening up to him, Naruto moaned in pleasure as Itachi's lips gently massaged against his own, creating almost a synchronic rhythm with the movement of their pelvises.

"Naruto, will you let me?"

Getting the hint, which was amplified by eager fingers running over the waistband of his pants, Naruto gave a trembling nod.

Without averting his eyes, Itachi closely watched Naruto's reaction for any hesitation. There was insecurity and fear in his eyes, but no other leads that should instinctively tell him to stop. However those two were enough to make Itachi do the opposite. "If you don't want to, then I'm not going to do anything."

Crystal eyes quickly descended on him. "Itachi…"

"You don't have to feel obliged to do it because of my selfish desires, Naruto." soothed Itachi as he stopped all movements. Naruto wanted to cry out for the lost pleasure but instead he found himself looking at Itachi in surprise. "I like you, very much so. And I don't want to see you hurt."

A lone tear fell from Naruto's eyes and he kissed Itachi with such a strong emotion that nearly left Itachi on his knees.

"I want it, yes," said Naruto, "But I… I don't want it to happen in such a place."

Nodding in understanding, Itachi pecked Naruto's cheek. "Okay. I'll wait."

But before Itachi could step away, Naruto stopped him, "But Itachi… I want to finish."

Itachi blinked startled but did not deny the smile that soon appeared after. "Of course."

Cupping Naruto's cheek, Itachi gave him a long openmouthed kiss while gladly working on freeing their arousals.

Naruto's body arched pleasingly as Itachi aligned their erect members together and enclosed his hand around them.

Feeling of that huge cock pressed against him and a foreign hand gripping him tightly sent delightful tremors through Naruto's entire back and he couldn't help but want more.

Itachi groaned as Naruto's hand suddenly joined his and wrapped fully around his cock. Slowly, almost teasingly, Naruto started sliding his hand all over his member. Itachi thrust into the touch encouragingly, begging Naruto to stop his ministrations before he turned him into a rapist.

"Naruto… you little vixen…, stop teasing me."

Chuckling lightly, Naruto gasped as his cock was suddenly roughly fisted in Itachi's hand, "Ah! Itachi…"

Pressing his lips to Naruto's, Itachi rubbed his member under gentle but firm strokes. Their moves were quickly increasing as in friction as they did in intensity. Both had little care for anything else as they tried to bring each other into completion. Jerking, grinding, biting, kissing – things seemed to get out of hand as they both submitted to the limitless desire.

Itachi basked at the sight of Naruto panting against his lips while he arched that sinful body, which Itachi could swear would kill him one day, against him. The way Naruto moved, the way he could bend and moan was just too perfect. Biting Naruto's lip tauntingly, Itachi smirked as those glazed lustful eyes opened up for him, "Are you still with me, little one?"

Mastering up a half glare, Naruto managed to breathe out a 'Shut up' before crashing their lips together.

What felt like almost too soon, Naruto and Itachi finally gave way to their release. Shouts and moans of pleasure were screamed out as they came into each other's hands.

Exhausted, Naruto slumped against the bitingly cold bars, which upset his poor back. After such an act, he really wanted to lie down on something soft.

Granting his wish, Itachi brought them both down to the ground and rested Naruto into his lap. "Better?"

Satisfied, Naruto smiled, "A bit."

A light chuckled rang in Itachi's chest, "Sorry. That's the most I can do for your comfort right now." he said, running smooth circles on Naruto's bare back.

Calming his rapid breathing, Naruto hummed appreciatively.

Even though it was probably past their so called 'bedtime' and half of the prison was most likely looking for them by now (atop of which they badly needed to clean themselves up), Naruto could really give a rat's ass about all of it as he felt quite content right where he was.

…

21:56

First thing Naruto checked once they exited the room was sounds. "So far, no alarm sirens," he thought aloud.

Closing the doors with a heavy click, Itachi slipped the key into his pocket. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's still around twenty minutes till ten."

"Four actually." said a sudden voice behind them.

Itachi quickly faced the newcomer while it took Naruto a bit longer to gather his suddenly lost bravery (which had skipped away to gang around with embarrassment) before looking at one, rather foreseeable, officer. That creepy-smiling ninja-wannabe pervert of an officer.

Roaming his eyes over the disheveled wide-eyed blond, officer Hatake's eyes curled in a playful smile, "Don't you look ravished this fine evening, Naru-chan."

Argh! Naruto wanted to yell scream and throw something heavy at him. Why was it always _him_ who had to find them?

"Leave him alone, Hatake." protectively Itachi took Naruto by the hand and forced him behind himself.

"Hai, hai." waving his hand aridly, Kakashi regarded Itachi with a scolding eye. "Now can I have back what you stole from me?"

Naruto looked at Itachi wonderingly, silently questioning what Itachi had taken and mainly, why was officer Hatake taking it all so calmly. Shouldn't he take Itachi down and beat him with a black-jack for stealing an officer's possession? But then again it was Hatake, one of the many other weird characters this prison had to offer.

Huffing, Itachi took the key from his pocket and tossed it towards the officer, who easily caught it.

"Alrighty. Go and hit the showers you two. And it better be _separately_, Itachi. Otherwise I'm coming in and taking the cute blond for myself." pocketing his hands, the officer left with a wink and a smile on his face.

Naruto went a bit pale. With such an authorized voice, he didn't know if it was supposed to be a joke or a promise.

Squeezing his panicked blond's shoulders, Itachi planted a quick kiss on his cheek, "Ignore him Naruto. He's an idiot."

"I heard that, Susanoo!" yelled Kakashi.

"Of course you did," grumbling unhappily in return, Itachi went to change for the shower – one lonely cold shower. That stupid Hatake always knew how to ruin his fun.

…

11:34

Lying sprawled on his bed, Naruto listened carefully as Shikamaru retold him the conversation he had had with Neji and Suigetsu the previous day. From how he was speaking, Naruto had to wonder if that was the real reason as to why Shikamaru suddenly collapsed next to him as if carrying the entire world on his shoulders. "So… did they buy your story?"

"Un…likely." Shikamaru dragged the word out, his mind not really focusing on what he was saying.

Propping himself against his elbow, Naruto looked down at the chapfallen cellmate. There was obviously something bothering Shikamaru, and it wasn't the gang. "Is there something you want to tell me, Shikamaru?"

The 'slacker' sighed as he tiredly rubbed his eyes, "Well…I-…"

"Uzumaki." Unfortunately, their conversation got disturbed by an unexpected visitor. A man, rather tall with unusually pale skin, light green eyes, white hair and peculiar two red dots tattooed above his eyebrows, was staring down at them expectantly.

"Yes?" asked Naruto, not yet recognizing the man standing by their cell, but he could feel Shikamaru slightly fidget next to him.

"Orochimaru wishes to see you. Come." Leaving no place for arguments, the man started walking away.

Hearing out the snake-man's name, Naruto visibly brightened. "The chemical. He must have gotten it. Wait here Shika, I'll be right back."

Though before he jumped off the bed, Shikamaru grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. An unsettling feeling in his gut. "Naruto. Orochimaru doesn't know that you're the one who attacked Kabuto, does he?"

Naruto's eyes widened. _'Oh God.'_ He completely forgot about that. Kabuto was Orochimaru's underling. Regardless of how bad their current relationship went, Kabuto was still under Orochimaru's care as one of his gang men. And when someone attacks Orochimaru's men, he's expected to attack back. In short, what Naruto had done might have just cost him their agreement – meaning, he can say his nitro-hydrochloric acid (and thus the escaping plan) goodbye.

And it had to happen on a worst time possible – since they're supposed to escape tomorrow.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Been a real long time but I finally managed to write something:) Am really sorry for how long this is taking me to update. I cannot really give an excuse, they are too manyXP Just sorryXD_

_Thank you so much to:_ TigrezzTail, Miyuki1393, roxxihearts, Savagehunger47, saya420, Narutopokefan, itachisgurl93, She who quacks alot, xdevil-childx, Conflicted Soul, izzy848, kihlia, lulubeck, The Winggoddess, SweetHunniiBunnii, mikyu, AnjoRemix, bargar13, AkitaIce, Terror'23, brokenfromthepast, Ryuubi Maelstrom, Lakikana, xXSasuNaru4everXx, freeprincess, harrylover101, TigerDemonOwnz, pennypigeon, Reeses and Gaara & MelodiousNocturneCiel! :DD

_Reply:  
_Conflicted Soul – no, Pain isn't Naruto and Kyuubi's real father, he's their godfather & an adaptive father so to say ;)


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter 23**_

* * *

11:40

Following slowly behind his 'escort', Naruto desperately tried to compose his inner qualm. No matter how many times he had gone to see Orochimaru, he could not help but feel anxious. As far as he knew Orochimaru, he was a very unpredictable man; one day he can be a useful ally and then the other – a formidable foe, who just might rape you on a whim alone. And then there was this whole mess with the Yakushi. Naruto didn't know nor was he too keen on finding out the _snake_-man's reaction in case he knew of the connection Naruto held with Kabuto's current state. _'Yeah, but it's not like I'm not going to find 'that' out soon.'_

Leaving the second tier, Naruto caught a glimpse of Itachi, who was leaning against the railings and watching him with an almost disturbed look in his eyes. Hoping to settle the man at ease, Naruto gave him a reassuring smile, which apparently worked…more or less. Though he was not too sure who he was trying to calm down – Itachi or himself.

Blushing slightly, Naruto tried to forget about Itachi for now. He had to concentrate.

Walking pass the ground cells, Naruto's agitation sunk even deeper when they passed the supplier's cell and headed outside. The sky was clouded, indicating an upcoming rain after those long days of suffocating heat. The majority of inmates were all gathered outside, going on with their daily rustiness that the prison could offer them, which in turn wasn't much – whether do sports, hang around or sniff the air.

"This way," said the escort, leading Naruto a bit further away from the gangs and towards the mess hall.

Cautiously rising his guard, Naruto did a quick scan around the area. So far it seemed that no one was going after him or willing to attack him…yet.

"Whoa there!" feeling a bump against his shoulder, Naruto wheeled around as a strong hand suddenly grabbed a hold on his right bicep.

"Where are _you_ going, cupcake?" asked Madara, his eyes dancing in unexplainable mirth. "Kimimaro, what do you plan on doing with my _partner_ here?"

"He is needed," the white-haired escort grunted in reply, his tone displeased. "Uzumaki, come! Orochimaru detests when he's kept waiting."

Madara quirked an eyebrow, "Going to Orochimaru, huh?" Turning his gaze back to the blond, he did not miss the lack of reaction from Naruto's usually snappy side. _'Oh what a surprise. Seems that even the cockiest ones have trouble hiding their fear.'_ "No need to fret, darling. That clown knows shit about fight club," pulling Naruto closer, Madara made sure to lower his voice as he then said in a sickeningly sweet tone, "That's why there's really no need to hesitate in case things get a little… _pestilent_."

Startled yet composed enough to hide his emotions nicely, Naruto shared a quick glance with Madara as he felt something sharp get pushed in his hand.

"But of course: it's _just_ in case," giving him a satisfied wink, Madara slowly loosened his hold and stepped away to give Naruto pass.

"Come," ordered the impatient escort, his presence already halfway till their destination.

With one final look at the pleased madman, Naruto followed. Swiftly he slipped the sharp blade inside his pocket. With a man like that 'snake', he could never know what to expect.

The little act pleased Madara greatly, _'Good boy.'_

…

Entering the backdoor of the third sector, Naruto curiously glanced around as he was led through the kitchen. Walking by the working men, he could distinctly make out the silhouette of chef Choji, who seemed rather content stirring the pot filled with some kind of gooey substance, which was likely going to be served as their next meal.

"This way," said the goon and opened the doors to the kitchen annex.

Naruto squinted at the blinding light inside the four-wall room. The place was practically covered in white tiles that reflected the shine of the light-bulbs. Aside from carts filled with towels and kitchen-ware near the left wall and a specific man standing on the other side of the room, the room was void.

"Thank you, Kimimaro. You may go."

That unusually rusty hiss of a voice made tremors run through Naruto's back. The grip on the dagger in his pocket tightened exceedingly.

"Naruto. Come here."

Swallowing nervously once the door behind him was closed, Naruto forced himself to move towards the only other person in the suddenly too secluded room.

Uncrossing his arms, Orochimaru gently lifted his one hand as a gesture for Naruto to place his upon it.

Noting that Orochimaru had presented his left hand which required Naruto's right, Naruto silently wondered if perhaps the man had discovered what he was hiding in his pocket and did not want any sudden surprises from Naruto's part. Or perhaps Naruto was just becoming too obviously suspicious for his own good. _'Stupid nerves,'_ cursing his foolishness, Naruto hid his reluctance and loosened the grip on the dagger. Taking his hand out of his pocket, Naruto slipped it in Orochimaru's. "Such a gentlemanly courtesy from your part. Reminds me of middle ages." dryly complimented Naruto, trying to soothe the tension a bit.

Chuckling, Orochimaru led Naruto to the adjourned door parallel to the main entrance, "I enjoy history."

For Naruto it was rather hard to find humor in the present as he was desperately trying to keep as calm as possible. Of course it would've been easier had he known what destination awaited him at the end of this dark hall they were going through.

"I shall not waste words on meaningless leads, Naruto." first breaking the silence said Orochimaru, his wicked smile never leaving his lips. "I know that it was you who attacked Kabuto."

Naruto nearly tripped. The fact that he said it so easy and straightforward meant that Orochimaru had no doubt. And whatever would proceed from this point on was a fool's guess. Peeking at the man from the corner of his eye Naruto felt his survival instincts screaming in alert. Where were they heading? What was Orochimaru planning? Unless he receives some answers to steel the stress, he's going to have to…

"No need for this tension, Naruto." Orochimaru's hold on Naruto's hand tightened warningly. "I am not posing a threat. Simply stating a fact."

That however did not ease Naruto. The man was scary when he was this carefree and placid.

"What does this mean?" asked Naruto. He did not know what to expect. Did that mean their deal was off? Was he being taken to some kind of a hole to be killed?

Coming to a stop, Orochimaru finally looked Naruto in the eyes; the smile on his face added a menacing edge. "Nervous, my boy?"

Naruto's composure nearly snapped there. As it was, any provocation was enough to send him straight for the edge. But just before the reminder of the hidden dagger ready for use crossed his mind, Orochimaru drew his attention to their whereabouts. "Don't worry. This is as far as we go."

That's when Naruto finally realized where they were – the laundry room. Many running washers and driers filled the room volume with strong soppy smell and steamy hotness. The place almost resembled a meadow field covered in moist midsummer fog. _'A perfect place for a subtle murder,'_ Naruto swallowed. His eyes quickly scanned the room for cops. None was found, except two inmates working. This was becoming fairly uncomfortable.

With one pointed look from Orochimaru, the shorter of the two workers gave a curt nod and retrieved a coiled grey cloth from the bottom of the laundry cart filled with clean sheets.

Unfolding the cloth carefully, Orochimaru made sure he had Naruto's complete attention before presenting a translucent bottle containing red solution in between his long pale fingers. 'HNO3+3 HCl' written in black letters across the glass. "As promised."

Caution left Naruto completely as he stared transfixed at the liquid substance. Substance which contained a highly intoxicating chemical – _aqua regia_. The final key to his plan was just inches from his reach. It almost seemed too good to be true.

Downing his excitement, Naruto made a move to take that dangerously tempting chemical… but Orochimaru abruptly pulled it out of his reach. Pausing, Naruto visibly gulped and looked at the man questioningly.

"But," any signs of playfulness left Orochimaru's face at that moment, "I'm afraid your nonchalance has gone a bit too far ahead of you, this time."

…

13:02

_Shikoku island, Japan _

Powerful sounds of the roaring engines kicking against the resistant air filled the sky above the secluded airport. The shining black layer of the plane's surface glittered against the beaming sunrays. It stood out like gold on black during the broad daylight; though it would implicitly blend in nicely during the night.

Pressing the button on the speaker, Kyuubi spoke into the communicator as he watched the performed test flight of the _Bombardier BD-700-1A10_ from the flight control tower, "Stop flying like a drunken fool, Shukaku. This plane is not made for your idiotic stunts. Turn it back before I decide to blow you both out of the sky!" Sometimes he just didn't understand what kind of a being possessed him to let Shukaku take charge of this mission. Luckily, he was not going to be the one flying the _Boeing_. Iie, father would kill him first if he even 'suggested' such a thing.

"_Ugh! Quit nagging like a hag and let me have my relief!"_ a croaked voice cracked through the communicator.

"You can have your relief with your hand, now straighten the damn plane accordingly! We don't need you fucking it up before its use comes to play."

'_Kyuubi! Go suck on a-…'_

Listening no further, Kyuubi cut the connection. "Your brother is starting to really piss me off. That pain in the ass."

Bleached green eyes looked up at him with little to no care before turning back to scan the detection monitors, which were keeping them alert of any pesky guests. "Unlike you, not all of us came out with lucky siblings, unfortunately."

"_I can hear you, Gaara! Stop listening to that asshole already!"_

Sighing in annoyance, the short redheaded operator pressed the earpiece close to his ear and spoke, "I will as soon as _you_ turn the plane 180 degrees. You're overheating the engines. Do what you are fucking told for once!"

"_What the hell! Why are you angry at me for? Hell, and stop siding with that bastard fox! You are supposed to be taking care of me here, remember!?"_

"Sometimes I really wonder _why_ I even do that much."

"_WHAT WAS THAT?!"_

Lowered the headset still booming out Shukaku's angry voice, Gaara sank into his seat. His elder sibling wasn't just a pain in the ass, as Kyuubi so 'politely' pointed out, he was a major pain in the ass. It was still surprising to him that Kyuubi – the hotheaded demonical assassin – could have ever befriended Shukaku – the profession artificer and demoniac flight obsessed fool. They fought almost constantly. Gaara had yet to live a day without seeing them both fight – be it in verbal sense or physical. And yet, despite all that, they _still_ end up remaining such good friends who'd kill for each other without a second thought.

Naruto always joked with him that it was a suppressed sexual tension, which always caused the poor blond running away with angry Kyuubi chasing. A small smile adored the pale man's features at the memory. "How's Naruto holding up by the way?"

"Better than I expected," said Kyuubi. "So far his plan is coming to fruition; there's just one drawback – the bars."

"He should hurry," noted Gaara, "Knowing Pain's impatience… well, I can't say I'd hold it against him if Naruto doesn't make it in time."

"Aa. I know what you mean." agreed a grinning scrawny navy haired youngster sitting next to Gaara. Yellow cat's-eyes and two inhuman dogteeth stood out the most in the persona's unorthodox character. "We haven't had a good slaughter in quite some time now. It's very oppressing."

"That's not what I meant, Matatabi," grunted Gaara before excusing himself as his phone rang.

"Yeah, but I could definitely relate to that, ne Saiken?" cackled Matatabi, nagging the bored looking man next to him.

Rolling his eyes at the sniggering men, Kyuubi turned back to the 'abomination' screwing with their plane. His eye twitching in annoyance when he saw the plane start looping.

"Speaking of slaughter," Crossing his arms and resting his feet against the control desk, Hachibi – a bulky man with slicked dark brownish hair and colored white strands – looked at his leader with just a tiny bit of curiosity, "You mentioned something about Naruto bringing an extra company the other day. Were you serious?"

"Aa. Naruto had reached an impasse. There was no other way around it."

The few men in the room exchanged looks at the information before smirking all as one. For Kyuubi it was painfully obvious that they were not so much disgusted with the news as they were pleased. And reason for such positiveness was simply because they were killers.

"Well ain't that sweet," purred one of the men sitting in front of the huge screen and keeping a watch over the air traffic, his expression taking a bloodthirsty edge, "Our little boy is so considerate that he's bringing us someone to _play_ with. How nice."

'_Talk about an assassin's hobby.'_ sighing to himself, Kyuubi cleared his throat, "Hate to be the bearer of _bad_ news, Kokuou, but unfortunately there are going to be a few limitations, this time around." nonchalantly he said, effectively ruining the 'fun' and startling half of the room into silence.

Of course, as trainees of cold-blood they had little 'understanding' when it came to the so called term _limits_, especially when it concerned an escaping prisoner outside their group.

"What do you mean?" first breaking the 'silent uproar' asked Isobu – a brawny man with spiked light-lavender hair and an eye-patch over his right eye.

"Simple. Out of all three, there will be only one allowed to kill, unless Naruto says otherwise." explained Kyuubi, leaving out the part that not all of it was true. Actually Kyuubi had no idea if one or any of those 'tagalongs' were going to live, because it shall all depend on Pain's last word.

The men, however, were not pleased with the answer.

"Are you serious? What the fuck!?"

"What reason does Naruto have to let a convict of all people live?"

"Are you actually expecting us to agree with this, Kyuubi?"

"What's the matter with you!?"

"Shut the hell up!" Fed up with the rising disorder, Kyuubi slammed the communicator against one of the computers. "This is _not_ something you can interject on!" he yelled, "Naruto has made his decision. Whether you agree to it or not is of no matter either way." The room fell under dead silence, nothing but the fizzle of the broken computer could be heard. This suppression was starting to give him a headache. Grabbing his coat, Kyuubi went for an exit but not before delivering one final say, "But for one I am surprised, I had no idea that you distrusted Naruto this much." That statement was like a blow to the gut. They all trusted Naruto with their lives and knew well that even though his decisions were at times… bizarre and completely insane, they always came out in their favor. So why should this time be any different? Whatever purpose he had to keep those inmates alive _probably_ had its own sophisticated reason.

Watching the redhead walk out from just the corner of his eyes, Hachibi sighed at the remaining men, all boring guilty frowns. _'Ah… not even an hour goes by and he already snaps.'_ Swinging his feet from the panel he followed Kyuubi outside.

Finding him sitting on the hood of his car, Hachibi smirked and approached his irate leader as a means of a silent support; or as much of a support as he could allow himself to be. "I'm shocked, Kyuubi. Usually, you are strictly against outsiders. Could it be that something's actually forming in that empty space behind your chest?" he mocked playfully, poking Kyuubi in the heart.

Kyuubi glared at his third in command. "Don't push it, Hachibi."

Laughing him off, Hachibi leant his back against the car. Caressing his hair back, he pulled out a pair of black sunglasses from his chest-pocket and slipped them on the bridge of his nose. "You're being unfair. You can't blame them, you know. It's unlike for us to favor criminals, remember?"

"As if you and me are any different."

"You _know_ what I'm talking about." reprimanded Hachibi, hating to be compared. Despite the many criminal acts they've committed as the gang, they despised other felons, regardless of his/hers crimes. Their gang bore trust and shared experience both in pain and blood, it was like a family. People might call them dirty egoistic bastards, but anyone outside their gang, their family, was marked as an outsider, an enemy – or in other words, someone to dispose of as soon as possible.

Leaning his weight on his hands, Kyuubi looked up at the clouded sky. A heavy sound of _1A10_ engines was the only thing to fill the quiet between them. "Perhaps I was a bit too rash."

Hachibi snorted, "A bit? You destroyed one of the computers."

Ignoring the remark Kyuubi wasn't finished, "But that's not all. There's something I have not told any of you yet."

Hachibi did not turn to him, silently waiting for him to continue or explain what he meant by that.

Rays of sunlight peeked just a bit from behind the grey clouds, forcing Kyuubi's eyes to narrow. "I think Naruto might've fallen in love… with a murderer."

Had Hachibi any reaction he hid it perfectly. _'Well…almost perfectly,'_, though Kyuubi as he stared at the man's crossed hands that were practically 'popping vessels'.

"Does Pain know?"

Slouching forward Kyuubi put his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands, "That's the problem. He doesn't."

"I heard he'll be arriving here personally before the departure."

"You heard right."

"That's risky."

Kyuubi sniggered lightly, not feeling too amused. _'Not necessarily. As long as he doesn't stay here longer than an hour, he'll be okay. But Naruto's gonna flip.'_ "We planned to meet him at our next departure point in America. But he was stubborn."

'_Something that runs in the family I guess,'_ Hachibi laughed in his sleeve before his expression turned thoughtful again. "What do you suppose he's going to do after he …finds out?"

"Whatever it is he needs to find out, I'm sure you can ask that himself right now."

Both looked up at a petite teenage boy approaching them. The young man dressed in light jeans, burgundy shirt and a matching long scarf, had short unruled dark silvery hair and a stitched scar running down his left magenta eye. Although he looked young, the level of his voice however was deep and monotonous, demanding respect. "Pain's on the line," he said to Kyuubi, jerking his thumb towards the tower, "Don't keep him waiting."

"Talk of the devil," mumbled Hachibi. Kyuubi chuckled and followed the prideful teen back to the tower.

What Pain would do after he finds out about Naruto's little 'affair', he had no idea. But right now he was just glad that the man finally called._ 'Pain might not know it, but he has very good sense of timing.'_ If Kyuubi had to admit, the past few days were stressing the last nerve out of him. Fear for his brother wasn't allowing him to sleep soundly at nights. The pesky '_what if-s_' were constantly on his mind. And, be it for real or not, he could almost relate to Naruto's troubled emotions as if they were his own. Hopefully after hearing his father's voice, he'll be able to calm himself down a bit.

…

13:03

_Back in Konoha prison_

Movements from the side did not disturb the stubborn stare Naruto had set on Orochimaru. He felt more than saw the other two men in the room step behind him, preventing him an easy escape. Clenching his shaking hands close to his pockets, Naruto mentally prepared himself. Now was not the time to be scared. If this was how it had to be, then there was just no other choice. He's going to have to kill Orochimaru.

"I know I said there's no need for worries earlier, but, as 'unscrupulous' as it may look, this less to minor state of authority we have running does not mean we're free to bend away from the rules completely, little one. Quite the opposite, breaking prison rules means a little bit more than just a slap on the wrist. There are things which you are simply _not_ allowed to cross." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, "And that includes any performed assaults endangering a man from the gang."

It was clear; Orochimaru was not letting him get away from what he had done. Regardless of their rusted relationship, Kabuto was still a man of Orochimaru's gang and under his protection. And no matter how wickedly stupid this whole matter sounded to Naruto, the gang leader's motives were understandable. But so were Naruto's.

"Correct me on my wrong, but am I to assume that this is the end of our deal?" Naruto was already preparing himself for the worst.

Cocking his head to the side, Orochimaru did not give away anything that would help Naruto understand his next move. "That depends on how you look at it," he said, sinking his hands inside his pockets.

"Hm?"

"Knowing what you've done, I cannot simply let you go now can I? Sorry, but that's not the way I roll." A small pause dragged in between them before he continued. "As you might have noticed, Kabuto and I hadn't been on the best of terms the past few weeks. So I cannot lie that I did not feel pleased once I found out what happened to him. That however, does not mean I'm allowed to twist away from my duties as his leader." The man took calming steps forward, forcing Naruto back. "I had wondered what would be a suitable punishment I should exceed on you, my little friend. But I had trouble coming up with one. So I figured, why not be creative." For a split second Orochimaru's eyes shifted to his men and with a small nod of his head, the two goons behind Naruto retreated.

Surprised, Naruto turned to look at the leaving men. Such an act alone could indicate only one thing – a silent kill. _'So this is how it's going to be then, huh?'_

"Naruto." Turning back, Naruto gasped when he saw how close they were standing. "I apologies for this, but this is where I must demand recompense."

Like a switch, insight left his system and instead stimulus came to play. One motion was all it took for Naruto to release his instincts and act. As soon as he saw Orochimaru's hands move, he retrieved the dagger and attacked. He had no care for Orochimaru's startled reaction, all he saw was a potential threat standing in his way, nothing more.

Evading the fatal blow, Orochimaru grabbed Naruto's wrist holding the dagger and tried to twist it out of him, but just as he forced Naruto's hand behind his back, he received a brutal kick against his shinbone.

Ripping his arm free, Naruto delivered a heavy blow to Orochimaru's solar plexus before tackling him to the ground. Pushing his knee against Orochimaru's chest, Naruto forced the man's head against the ground and placed the dagger right under his chin. "This was _not_ a part of our deal!" he hissed, feeling his whole body shaking. This was not good; killing Orochimaru was the last thing he wanted to do now. There were too many witnesses nearby, half of which were the man's own men. And if that wasn't enough – it was no secret that Orochimaru's the warden's 'favorite', which meant that _this_ murder case would not go down silently. This was so not good. "This was not supposes to happen," cursed Naruto, not realizing he said it out loud.

Shocked yellowish eyes stared at him owlishly, still lost in the middle of what had happened. Such a…'physical' reaction he was definitely _not_ expecting. _'Well ain't this a surprise,'_ the man thought dully, referring not only to the sudden attack but also the way the boy was shaking on top of him. It seemed that the poor thing had forced himself in a… very troublesome bind, which he clearly had not planned out quite as thoroughly as hoped, _'Oh what a delicate little fool.'_ To Naruto's complete bemusement, Orochimaru suddenly burst out laughing. "My dear dear boy. What on earth do you think you are doing?"

Rage drained from Naruto's expression almost immediately. That wasn't what he awaited to hear. "Nani?"

Amused, Orochimaru cocked an eyebrow, singing suggestively, "Such spark. What did you think I was going to do? Rape you? Heavens no!"

"Huh?"

"Don't look so disappointed. I know it's unfortunate, but sadly I did not bring you here for fun and games."

Naruto's eyebrows lowered and he pushed the dagger harder against the man's flesh. "Don't toy with me!"

The smile on Orochimaru's lips was slowly diminishing, "You are too rash. If you had just _allowed_ me to _explain_, I would've told you what I really wanted from you. There would've been no pressure. In case you refused, it'd simply mean the end of the deal and we could part ways _silently_."

Was he serious? Staring intensely into those rare outlined eyes, Naruto searched the 'supplier' for lies or any possible hints that would make him doubt his words. Due to stress or not, but Naruto could not find anything except serene truth, which was simply ridiculous because it was _Orochimaru_.

But if what the man said was true and Naruto had really misunderstood the whole thing, then… then this situation could not go any more embarrassing than it already did. Clenching the blade in hand tighter, Naruto huffed and finally pulled away. He would take the risk and see how far this 'conversation' shall lead them; but if Orochimaru's lying…

Distancing himself a bit further from the man, Naruto asked, "Wasn't it your plan to kill me?"

The man blinked, feinting surprise and offence …or at least that's what Naruto thought he was doing. "Why do you have to picture me as such a _bad_ person, Naruto?"

'_Because it matches your character.'_ "I thought that after finding out Kabuto's attacker, you were going to exceed your revenge."

Licking blood off his cut lip, Orochimaru savored the taste of iron in his mouth. He liked it when things got rough, but only when it concerned sex. "Oh, I will." Naruto stiffened. "But not in a way you think."

"…"

"I told you this already. As a leader, it is _expected_ of me to bring punishment upon those who threaten my gang." rising back to his feet Orochimaru casually dusted himself off, his composure simple and inoffensive. It was almost as if he did not care that he had just been a moment away from death. "…But I had a sudden change of heart. So I decided not to attack you. No. As a punishment, I'm simply going to ask you a request."

Naruto frowned, his guard dropping. Was that why he told his men to retreat? Leaving them to think whatever they wanted while things took a turn for something completely opposite to the expected? _'If he wants to keep a tough guy act, then yes.'_ "What kind of a request is it?"

"I want you to arrange a meeting for me?"

"Meeting…" the blond felt at a lost. Of all the things Orochimaru could ask him, he asks him to play a mediator of sorts? If it wasn't the most silliest thing…

"Yes. I wish to meet with your uncle."

_That_ was where things ceased being silly. Time actually stopped for a whole minute. Orochimaru could've laughed as he watched Naruto's eyes go incredibly wide. "M-my…my _uncle_?!"

"Aa. Uncle Jiraiya Sennin." knowingly proclaimed Orochimaru.

Naruto's mouth agape. _'Jiraiya? How the hell does he know about that pervert being my uncle?'_

Amused beyond hope, Orochimaru walked over to the shocked blond. "I know more about you than you can imagine." Taking the bottle out of his pocket, he took Naruto's one hand into his and paused, "So… do we or do we not have a deal, Uzumaki Naruto? Iie, little Namikaze?"

If anything went beyond shock then Naruto was there. _'How? How does he know!?'_ Not only did this man know of his relative but he was also familiar with his family name too? What was going on? Clicking his opened mouth close, Naruto finally gathered enough senses to stutter something out, "H-how do you know Ero-Sennin?"

Orochimaru arched a brow at the ridiculously fitting nickname. "We shared 'adventurous' history."

Still stunned, Naruto wanted to ask more questions but they slipped his mind once he felt something heavy get placed in the middle of his palm and he looked down at the chaste bottle. "Too much knowledge will do you no good. Sometimes it's best to leave things as they are, little fox." Placing a hand on the golden head, Orochimaru lightly mussed up that perfectly spiked yet silken hair. The action was almost affectionate but Naruto knew it could never be true, so he blamed it on the man's wickedly ambivalent nature.

"So? What do you say?"

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Naruto turned his eyes away from the bottle and onto the taller male. Orochimaru had taken the first step and now he was waiting for confirmation on the deal. The key to his freedom in exchange for a meeting with that perverted uncle of his. But who was Orochimaru to Jiraiya? Was it safe to let them meet? What would he do to that pervert if they met?

"Why do you wish to see him?"

Orochimaru seemed reluctant to answer, but when he did Naruto couldn't help but notice a small genuine smile on him, "I miss seeing an old face. Meeting an old friend helps me reminisce… 'pleasant' memories so to say."

That was no answer; Naruto knew that there had to be something else. It was no secret that Jiraiya was famous, and that fame exceeded his reputation as a writer; but was it really the pervert's position that Orochimaru was targeting for? _'No. If it was then he would've had no reason to turn down my offer concerning the escape. But what then?'_

Orochimaru smirked at the share effort Naruto tried to place on this matter. He had grown into such a strange boy, but that strangeness of his was exactly what intrigued Orochimaru greatly. Things were never boring with this blond. There was always something new he learnt about him almost every day. His determination, passion, such endless variety of emotions, that foolish yet incredibly daring spirit… well, Orochimaru had to admit –he was just something else. Alas, as much as he'd like to stay here and 'chat', it was high time to end this… 'meeting'. "I guess silence gives consent. I will be waiting for his arrival at any time it is convenient for him." with that, he turned to leave, ignoring Naruto's startle and hasty protests.

"No! Wait, I-…!"

"Don't worry so much, little one. There's no way I could ever hurt Jiraiya." _'Knowing how precious he is to you.'_

…

15:25

Entering the cellblock, Naruto nearly walked into a wall. There were so many things swirling in his head, it would be no wonder if he suddenly went tumbling down the stairs or something. _'Ero-Sennin, you have so much explaining to do.'_

Finally reaching his cell, Naruto grabbed a pillowcase and carefully wrapped the bottle in it. Luckily it was dinnertime, giving him enough time to unscrew the sink and hide the bottle inside the prison bowels without anyone's notice.

'_Maybe I should get a mask or something. Royal water is no joke. I really ought to test that stuff later on.'_ Naruto thought to himself, covering the hole back behind the sink.

Dusting his hands off, Naruto silently pondered where to get his hands on a sufficient protective mask.

As he lazily wandered towards the stairs, his eyes caught a particular cell on the other side of the tier. His sight completely lost to the previous goal.

'_Itachi.'_

…

Stepping through the cold metal bars of the cell no.20, Naruto never would've guessed that the day would come when he'd actually fall so deep for this known yet still very strange feeling called 'love'. He told himself many times that what he felt for Itachi was not love – it was just a second closest emotion before it. But now, as he looked down at the man he ever experienced such strange yet strong emotions for, could he still keep himself in denial?

Sitting on the side of the bottom bunk, Naruto smiled at the peacefully sleeping man there. "Even in your sleep…you're still perfect, aren't you?" he whispered silently, brushing a stray strand away from Itachi's closed eyes. Bending down, Naruto lightly pressed his lips against Itachi's.

Dark coal eyes opened, their pupils narrowing and revealing red shadows in the deepest depths of those dark eyes.

Wounding his one arm around the small waist, Itachi pulled surprised Naruto atop of him. His long fingers buried themselves in those soft yellow locks, inviting the blond in for a deeper and more 'proper' kiss.

"Mm…" Pulling away from the kiss, Naruto chucked when Itachi followed him, not wanting to break the contact so soon.

Sitting up on the man's lap, Naruto cupped Itachi's cheeks and pecked him sweetly and soundly. "Not the best place for that, don't you think?" A small breath passed through his lips as Itachi's hands disappeared under his clothes and started their shameless 'excursion'.

"And who was the one who started making out with me while I still slept? I'm only stating my answer." Emphasizing his point, Itachi pushed his hips against Naruto's bottom and grazed his teeth against the exposed neck.

Naruto could feel slight stiffness down below. Clenching Itachi's shoulders, he buried his face in the man's neck, "Not now. Please, …can't you wait until we escape?"

Sighing lightly, Itachi closed his eyes. _'Not when you're ghosting over my neck so provocatively.'_ "You know I will." It was torture day in and day out. It was so very torturous to hold himself back and not jump the boy right there in his hands, on his _lap_.

'_God, I'm pathetic.'_ How was it possible that someone like _him_ had actually turned into someone _this_ restrained, _this_ understanding, _this_… _gentle_ and _caring_ in just mere days?

'_I have hopelessly fallen for him, haven't I?'_ Things used to be easier in the past. Whenever there was something he wanted he just took it, no questions asked. He could give a damn about feelings and emotions. But this…this was different. For the first time in a long time, he finally found something, no, _someone_ he truly cared for and would gladly fight for. Naruto was special. He could never bring himself to hurt him. How could he when he felt so helplessly appeased and …_safe_ around this boy?

"You're not pouting now are you?" joked Naruto, caressing Itachi's hair lightly, lovingly. "You're so silent. Are you okay?"

Opening his eyes lazily, Itachi could've purred in content at such a treatment. How long had it been since he had last felt such care, devotion, trust? How many years had passed since he forgot what 'warmth' meant? Blinking away the sudden biting sensation in his eyes, Itachi ran a hand over his cheek and was shocked to find a small sheen drop gliding down his skin. Tears?

Itachi stiffened. Perplexed by the abrupt reaction, Naruto tried to look at him, but his efforts proved pointless as Itachi locked his arms around him and refused him to see. "Itachi?"

"Iie. I'm fine. Just tired." Pressing his lips to Naruto's temple, Itachi pulled him down to lie with him. "Rest with me for a bit?" asked or pleaded Itachi, not ready to let this pleasantly foreign sensation escape him yet. _'No, not ever.'_

…

20:25

Yawning loudly into his hand, Shikamaru rubbed his tired eyes and looked at the watch sitting on his wrist. _'20:25? I caught only two hours of sleep? Meh…that's not nearly enough.'_ After Choji's fine supper, Shikamaru had a pressing will for a nice well rested nap. No one was there to bother him – in fact his gang had not spoken a single word to him ever since he met them at the dining hall – so it was perfect; and nor did it seem a bad idea to proceed with his sleep. But just as his mind started entering back into the dreamland, a disturbingly loud voice ruined that fantasy.

"I'm fairly disappointed, cherry. I was actually looking forward to see Orochimaru's guts spilling out. But I guess we can't always have it all, now can we?"

Groaning in displeasure, Shikamaru opened his one eye to see Naruto enter the cell with 'berating' Madara right behind him.

"What did you two discuss about anyway? You were gone for so long; I almost missed seeing your _cheerful_ face."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. 'Cheerful' was an understatement.

"You two didn't do anything kinky down there, did ya?"

Naruto glared at the menace of a man, "Why don't you make yourself useful and hang this out?" ignorant to any protests, he thrust a balled cord in Madara's hands.

The dark-haired male growled, not pleased at being ignored and ordered around.

"What are you doing?" asked Shikamaru, lazily rolling on his stomach.

"Hanging out the laundry." Picking up a bunch of shirts and socks, Naruto piled them up under the running spray in the sink.

"What for? We had already done it a few days ago."

Naruto shot him a pointed look. The sleepy 'slacker' finally understood. Naruto was going to go behind the walls. "At such an hour?" Shikamaru wasn't too compliant with the idea. Wasn't this a bit too risky? The prison was bombing with freely wondering inmates who could barge in at any moment; not to mention the count, which was about to commence in less than thirty minutes.

"I'm going to test that chemical." said Naruto, hanging out the moist clothing so they covered the view from the sink, "I have to make sure Orochimaru hasn't swindled me with a simple drinking juice. Just wait here and stand guard."

Shikamaru sighed, "Why can't you test it during the night, when it's safer?" In his eyes Naruto was becoming a bit too careless. _'That's probably because he's excited,'_ he noted, seeing how Naruto's eyes practically glowed with anticipation.

Slipping soundlessly into the room, Itachi handed Naruto a bundled up cloth.

"What's with the stuff?" wondered Shikamaru, eyeing Naruto unroll the fabric to reveal two pairs of towels and leather working gloves.

"It's to protect me from the acid mist." Naruto explained, "I know it's a half-assed gadget compared to the real thing but it's not like there's a shop nearby where I can buy myself the protective mask and shit."

"What about your eyes?"

"Yes well… I'll just have to wing it."

Shikamaru and Itachi scolded. Madara meanwhile yawned in boredom.

"Naruto. You can't just-…"

"Don't worry _mom-s_. I'll be very careful." Unscrewing the sink and gathering the items, Naruto quickly crawled through the exposed hole. "I'll have this done in 10 minutes," he promised.

Sighing, Shikamaru silently told Naruto to hurry and covered the hole back behind the sink. With great reluctance he turned to face 'those two' – Itachi and Madara. Funny, this was actually the first time since what seemed like forever when they had been left alone like that, just the three of them. _'Man this is a pain. All this is starting to remind me of the _bad_ old days.'_ Shikamaru thought mordant.

…

20:58

Leaning against the wall, Shikamaru watched as minutes slowly ticking by through the digital numbers on his watch. So far, it had been over three minutes since Naruto went inside the walls. Not nearly long enough to start a panic, but quite long enough for a silent tension to rise between the three enemies-turned (forced)-allies.

Sighing lightly Shikamaru lowered his watch and look at his silent 'guests'.

Itachi, that calm and composed bastard, of course paid no heed to the created tension in the room and had long since fallen in Naruto's bed for a relaxing nap.

The lazy inmate envied him some; he also wanted to collapse on the bed and finally resume that blasted dream he had enjoyed, but flatly forbade himself that pleasure. Be it his intuition or not but there was something not letting him drop his guard down, as if almost expecting something bad to happen.

As for the maniac – he just kept staring at him. Whether trying a half-assed attempt at a conversation or just trying to irk the shit out of Shikamaru for no particular reason. Though the latter did not seem to be the case. What puzzled the 'slacker' was the look Uchiha was giving him – it was almost accusing.

'_Tsk. Whatever,'_ caring less to naught about that freak of a man, Shikamaru rested his eyes close; at least while standing he won't have to worry about falling asleep.

…

21:13

As time went by, the unwanted tension in the room became more and more oppressing.

Rubbing his unbind hair, Shikamaru looked at his watch, his unease rising. _'Fifteen minutes… It's ok, no big deal. He's just probably… taking his time.'_

"Do you trust him that much?" Finally one of them spoke and bored brown eyes rolled up to look at their 'peaceful' silence breaker.

"What?"

"You heard!" growled Madara. Not looking like the happily twisted madman anymore.

Shikamaru's slack limbs resuscitated as Uchiha approached him. "Why did we let him go out there alone?" Apparently Madara did not like the thought of Naruto down there so long, even if it was just a few minutes over the promised time. "That boy isn't a fool, you know. He's a _manipulator_."

Itachi's eyes slowly opened, listening in on the so far one-sided conversation.

"Would be little to no surprise if we suddenly find out that he had long since made his escape while making _us_ wait here like a bunch of buffoons."

Shikamaru flinched. It wasn't like he was thinking about it… but a portion of a doubt existed in him as well. What if it was true and the little bastard had left them all hanging?

"It's too early," countered Shikamaru, trying to assure himself more than others. "The time isn't right." Thought he believed that the time was perfect; and Naruto could have already escaped without their notice. After all, he had everything he needed right in the palm of his hands – sewers, infirmary and the chemical… and in addition – three moronic lookouts ensuring him a clean escape.

But as his eyes shifted towards Itachi, he knew that it couldn't be true… because Naruto wouldn't leave Itachi behind. He had seen how the blond looked at his long since known 'frenemy'. Perhaps he was even the 'only one' so far who actually _knew_ Naruto's true feelings for the man. _'Now that's actually a bit funny… because, basically, I know Naruto better than anyone else.'_ Recognition washed over Shikamaru. Yes, he had no need to worry because he knew his cellmate. Through all those months since getting to know Naruto, Shikamaru knew that in a sense he was a trickster, but he never lied to him and he didn't break promises.

"I'm going in." Madara's sudden announcement startled him.

"You can't." Shikamaru placed himself in between the sink and the unpredictable maniac.

"Don't order me around, Nara!" Grabbing Shikamaru by his shirt, Madara jerked him closer. "And don't try to tell me that you're not curious what your little fuck-toy's doing down there so long!"

The young inmate was not impressed. "I don't _need_ to know." grabbing the man's wrist, Shikamaru suddenly smirked, "Because who said that I'm not actually here to keep an eye on you while Naruto makes a clean escape?" With one fluid move he jerked the hand holding him away and punched shocked Madara into the face.

Itachi arched a brow as he watched Madara fall heavily onto his back, tearing the ropes holding the laundry out of their hinges. He didn't have to ask to know that Nara was just provoking Uchiha, which in a way wasn't the brightest of ideas, knowing Madara for the psycho that he was.

Bending his knee and rising himself on his elbows, Madara let out a crude laughter before his expression became void of any amusement and turned vicious. "Little motherfucker! You're _dead_!"

Sudden movements outside the cell caught Itachi by surprise and he quickly rose to his feet.

Pushing himself to his feet, Madara launched himself at Shikamaru. He was beyond pissed now and ready to tear the boy into pieces.

Fortunately for Nara, Itachi grabbed the back of the man's white shirt before his murderous hands made it to the motionless inmate and jerked him backwards.

"THE FUCK!?" Another pained groan tore out of his throat and he glared at Susanoo, only to feel more pain as a hand clapped against his mouth and his head got pushed against the hard floor. His enraged black eyes snapped towards his 'mortal enemy', who, to his perplexity, was staring almost intensively at the entrance.

Kisame, Hidan, Deidara, Sasori and Zetsu. Five of the uninvited guests were 'honoring' them with their presence.

…

21:20

Observant eyes watched as the chemical penetrate an eating hole through the metallic pipe, just like a burning coal on a cube of butter. Picking up the watch, Naruto stopped the set time and counted the approximate duration of the chemical reaction set from star till end. _'It eats away about two minutes on the iron …, though it'll probably take a bit longer for it to corrode the platinum.'_

Standing up, Naruto kicked the still corroding pipe away and pushed the towel off his nose and mouth. Pressing the side buttons on the borrowed digital watch, Naruto changed the function back to the time clock. _'21:21. Shit. Already pass twenty minutes.'_ It took more than he counted for to find himself at least half as strong a metal as platinum for the chemical test. And right now, he was running out of time. _'Better hurry.'_

Making sure he had all his 'gadgets' stuffed securely in a pillowcase, Naruto quickly made his way to the main 'starting point' of the escape – the drainage pipe.

…

21:24

"Well isn't _this_ a surprise," sharp toothy grin on Kisame's mouth displayed an almost sinister delight. "I was actually ready to believe that you have developed _solicitude_ towards this trash, Itachi. But I'm glad to be mistaken."

"Took a fucking time, didn't it?" sneered Hidan.

"Such an assault proves nothing." hissed Zetsu in a deep rusted voice. His dissimilar colored eyes never left the sight of Itachi as he stepped into the cell. "Aa. He hasn't killed Uchiha yet to prove us anything, has he?" like an upturn of a burned side, a much lighter and inversely much more giddy tone had emerged from Zetsu's mouth.

Hidan followed, his expression speaking 'thrill'. "Unless he's just warming up." With a flicker of his hand, a sharp rusty blade appeared in between his fingers. "Here. I suggest introducing pain before you murder this fuck." he encouraged, squatting next to Itachi and holding out the blade.

Itachi glared at his men, ignoring the 'tempting' weapon. "What do you want?" he wasn't even trying to act friendly.

Deidara huffed and crossed his arms, feeling offended. "Is it so wrong of us to see how you're doing?"

"We're starting to miss the old times," added Kisame, his bloodthirsty eyes then turning to Shikamaru.

"Touching," bitterly said Itachi. "But I think you've already made it clear the last time." _'Just how much you care about my wellbeing.'_ His last encounter with his gang was not what most would call a happy one. They yelled, they cursed, they pushed and nearly lost themselves in a bloody fistfight, which surprisingly ended without anyone getting majorly hurt; at least not as much on the outside as it had on the inside. They no longer cared. "And I thought it was made clear that my motives were no longer of any concern to you. So mind your own business."

The five men glared at him. They were not proud of themselves for questioning their leader, but Itachi had no right to hide the truth from them either. They were growing tired of watching this _love 'quadrangle'_ from the sidelines, which just made no sense at all. Countless times they had seen Itachi, Nara, Uchiha and Uzumaki talking amongst themselves in secrecy; as if plotting something. They wanted to know what exactly was going on between them.

"Had this been just about you and your personal interest, we might have stayed ignorant. But it is becoming evident that this is _more_ than just about your ownership of that boy, Itachi." Sasori decided to skip the senselessness and go straight to the point, "You're hiding something."

Grabbing Madara by the collar of his shirt, Itachi lifted the man back to his feet before pushing him to the side. "Oh? And what is it that I'm hiding?" hissed Itachi, stepping closer to his gang. His good mood was rapidly falling down. "What? Plans for rebellion? Race war? A fucking resistance? Or am I planning on overthrowing the authorities and taking Konoha Prison under my control? What _exactly_ do you _think_ I'm hiding?"

Being the closest, Zetsu and Hidan quickly took a few steps back. Kisame, however, refused to back down. He knew that it was dangerous to stand close to Susanoo when he was angry, his face still hurt from that last fight they had, but he just had to make Itachi understand that he could trust them. "I have no idea what it is that you're hiding. But whatever it is, it obviously prevents you from killing _him_. And how can you expect us to stay out of this when you're dealing with that _shit_?" argued Kisame, pointing at glaring Madara.

Itachi felt touched by such devotion but unfortunately it wouldn't change a thing, because he just couldn't tell them the truth. _'I'm sorry.'_

"I told you this already Kisame. Get it through. He is of _no_ concern of _yours_." Itachi practically spelt the words for them, hoping they'll finally get it and step down.

Kisame clenched his teeth. "In a way, we understood and accepted you getting all 'friendly' with _that_ lazy sloth," Shikamaru arched a brow as he was abruptly dragged into the argument, "But why the fuck are starting to act all buddy-buddy with Madara too!?"

"My-my, aren't I a popular 'topic' today," chuckled Madara.

Itachi's eyes fleshed behind his bangs. This was getting old. He could stand just this much of their nosiness. "Sadly, Madara's life has a certain meaning to me right of this moment," he said, feeding them off this new information. "But as soon as that use of his runs out…"

Madara's grin slightly fell and he glared at Itachi as the man looked at him with that same withering look he had all those times back before they got on each other's throats. "…I'll be sure to deal with him."

"Use?" Kisame blinked, "What the fuck are you talking about? What use-…?"

"Unfortunately, Kisame, I cannot tell you more," Itachi quickly cut him off. "Therefore, stop this nonsensical obtrusion and back the fuck off!"

Kisame nearly exploded right there.

…

21:46

Crouching before the opposite side of his cell, Naruto sighed once he saw he still had time before the count start. It took him a few more minutes to reach the drainage pipe, where he then hid the chemical and his extra 'gadgets'. _'Now I'll just have to try and not forget where I placed them when we escape.'_ Kneeling in front of the hole, he pushed against the back of the sink.

…

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he heard a familiar silent scraping of the sink against the hard floor behind him. It was Naruto. _'Shit! What bad timing.'_ With one hasty step back, he pushed his weight against the sink, preventing it from its movements and praying for Naruto to get the message and stay quiet.

"You weren't even planning on killing him in the first place, _were you_?!"

"Unless you stop acting like complete idiot, Kisame, I'm not even going to discuss this matter with you."

"This is total bullshit, Itachi! What the hell's wrong with you!?"

Confused at first by the sudden resistance, Naruto thought the sink had jammed and he tried to push it again… but he froze as soon as he heard a loud shout.

"_Enough!_" suddenly yelled Shikamaru, startling the others in the cell. Actually it was a yell for Naruto, but it worked out fine with the uproar that's been happening. "You're all just getting nowhere. What possibly do you expect to gain out of this verbal roundabout?" he snapped at them, not too sure what exactly he was getting at. _'Smooth Nara. And what will you say now?'_ Swallowing at the attention his little fiasco had earned him, Shikamaru forgot about what he was or wasn't about to say and simply went with what he knew he wanted from them. "Now I'm going to ask you all to leave. You can exchange your _pleasantries_ between one another outside!"

Taken by surprise, Itachi quickly looked at Shikamaru. It didn't take long for him to understand the reason for this sudden outburst, at least not when he spotted Nara leaning against the sink more than necessary. Surprisingly, Madara also seemed to get the message.

"Well aren't you in a hurry to make us leave." Zetsu eyed Shikamaru cynically. "Why such a sudden haste?"

"Simple. You're all starting to give me a headache. Now get the hell out!"

Suddenly, the signal rang, calling all prisoners to their cells for the bed count. "Get ready for the count!" yelled Asuma as he and the rest of the officers gathered up for the check.

"Che. What a waste," muttered Hidan, hiding his dagger behind the waistband of his pants. "Come on guys, let's go."

Following the foul-mouth, Zetsu however did not miss the light relief in Shikamaru's eyes after the signal call. And it wasn't the relief of seeing them finally go and leave him at peace, no, there was something else there… something that probably had _something_ to do with a particular person Deidara then decided to remind them of.

"By the way, Nara," Deidara's unhidden eye artfully looked around the room before descending on Shikamaru, "Where's your little cellmate?"

Shikamaru's expression betrayed nothing, though on the inside he felt himself kicking and screaming. This wasn't turning out well.

Deliberately ignoring the ringing of the signal calling them, those bastards refused to move, clearly trying to fry Shikamaru for as long as they could. They knew…

"Hey you! Break it up!" Luck finally decided to smile at Shikamaru as the owner of a 'spirited' voice dispersed the ganged prisoners to their individual cells. And for a moment Shikamaru felt relieved… but only for a moment.

Retreating slowly after his friends, Deidara shot Shikamaru an arrogant look, grinning, "This is going to be entertaining to watch." he said pointedly. Shikamaru tensed.

"Come on, let's go - let's go! Put some more effort in your youthful bones!" urged Gai, waiting till they all scattered to their cells.

Angry, Madara marched over to Shikamaru and hissed in his face. "That little bitch better be back soon or I'm going to sink this plan like a fucking Titanic."

The last one to leave, Itachi shared one more disturbed look with Shikamaru before heading out as well. Both knew that Itachi's men were keeping a close eye on this cell. And if Naruto suddenly shows up, they will be found out; but if he doesn't – the guards will know and rise an alarm.

Things when out of hand as Asuma called inmates for lineup, starting the count.

'_Fuck!'_ cursing, Shikamaru quickly fled to the sink. They'll have no choice – Itachi's gang will have to become a part of the escape. Pushing the sink slightly to the side, careful to make it as unnoticeable as possible, he called out in a harsh whisper, "Naruto. Come out, quick!" To his shock no answer followed, the 'hallway' was empty. "Naruto?" _'Damn it, NO!'_

…

Running down the catwalks, Naruto quickly found the staircase leading him to the roof. From those few final words he heard Deidara say, Naruto understood that Itachi's persistent goons were now keeping a watchful eye on them; and seeing him appear in his cell, suddenly without walking in it or being in it during their little 'visit', they will figure out that Nara's cell has more than just a one-way entrance.

Sadly (as he knew Itachi would've been glade if things were different), he can't afford to have Itachi's gang coming with them, because from what he concluded in his test – it'll take more than five minutes for the acid to eat away the platinum, which then will leave them with less time to climb over the wall.

Kicking the hatch open, Naruto carefully looked around and quickly ran to hide behind a tall stalk, barely avoiding the search floodlight that passed his direction. As soon as the lights were gone and he was consumed by the shadows of the moonlit night, he searched the roof for a particular metal box.

…

Coming to stand before his cell, alone, Shikamaru swallowed, feeling dry saliva cut ruthlessly against his throat. He did not have to look up to confirm more than a few eyes watching him intensively. Instead, he closed his eyes and listened as the officers made it to the second floor and started checking the second list. _'This is bad.'_

…

In spite of his calm stand, Itachi's mind was whirling like a hurricane as he watched Nara stand there alone. Why wasn't Naruto there? Did that mean he ran?

Narrowing his eyes, he looked at Kisame, who just like the rest of his gang were staring at Nara's cell, waiting and anticipating the outcome.

From what was obvious, it looked like Naruto had chosen to confront the cops over his gang. The little fish had probably heard all that was going on and decided to take measures into his own hands. But _how_ he was planning on doing that was what unnerved Itachi.

Looking back at the guards, Itachi bit his tongue in worry. He doubted Naruto had hightailed it out. To try and escape now would be foolish. The alarm would first go off _before_ he even made it out of the infirmary.

"…-Suigetsu, Juugo." The badges were slowly closing in on Shikamaru and Naruto's cell.

In any case, whatever Naruto had planned out, he better initiate it quick.

…

Dropping to his knees before the small security control box, Naruto patted his pockets and felt relieved to find his 'trusty' screw there.

Breaking the lock, he quickly opened the box and eyed the different colored wires, each with a specific function to a specific system: electricity, water, pipes, heating system and alarm.

…

Cold sweat was pouring down his temples and back. _'Oh man, I think I'm going to drop. Why couldn't he have listened to me and done it during the night? Damn it, somebody draw those cops away. Please, someone just do something stupid.'_

"…-Kiba, Shino." Shikamaru could almost hear the scrapping of a pen as their names were marked on the list and the checked inmates stepped into their cell, the doors closing behind them. They were just two cells away from his. _'Shit!'_

…

Drumming his fingers impatiently and quivering his leg, Madara was nearing his breaking point. His eye was twitching almost uncontrollably as he stared at Shikamaru, who just stood there without that little blond traitor. _'Little shit. I knew it. He fled. I bet he's already halfway through that fucking wall. Well fuck it! ' _Running his tongue over his lips, Madara slammed his hands against the bars of his cell in agitation. He had had enough. _'Fine then! If I can't take the head down, I'll just settle with seconds.'_ He was going to blow the whistle.

But before he opened his mouth to shout about the escaping plan to the world, a loud groaning sound suddenly alerted everyone's attention.

Frowning in confusion, Itachi looked back at his cell, where a small fire sprinkler that hung against the ceiling was shaking slightly.

"What the fuck is that?!" yelled Madara.

Before the source of disturbance was found, the fire sprinkler system was breached and water exploded from all sprinklers heads. The whole sector was brought in disorder. Security mechanisms switched on and the locked cells of the first and second floor opened automatically.

Startled and shocked by the abrupt coldness of water coming down on them, the inmates screamed and began running out of their cells, doing everything in their power to run out of the cellblock in case of a fire.

Opening his eyes, Shikamaru blinked as he looked up at the falling drops of freezing cold water hitting him in the face. A small smile slowly crawled upon his features. _'Naruto. You sly devil.'_

Smirking, Itachi blended in with the madly dashing mob, all running to the exit.

"What the hell is going on?!" Asuma was completely perplexed and powerless against the frantic and panicking inmates. It was chaos.

"Fire alarm, sir. One of the channels must've caught fire."

"One of the? Then why the hell was the sprinkler system activate on the _entire_ sector?" roared angered and wet head officer.

"Minor malfunction?" hopefully offered Kotetsu.

Grumbling something incoherent under his breath, Asuma then ordered the officials to gather inmates outside in the yard until the problem was fixed.

…

Watching from the rooftop, Naruto could see the prisoners get led through the opening doors and into the yard. Luckily, all floodlights were quickly turned onto the forming crowd of inmates, giving him a chance to climb down the roof with the little help of a pipe.

Carefully rounding the corner of the main building, he fluently meddled in with the mob of grumbling and cursing inmates all of which were shaking from wet and cold. And just in time too, as armed officers came out and made a secure circle around the prisoners. Professionally trained K-9s were let out of their chains and spread around the yard, making sure the 'sheep' stayed and behaved.

Brushing pass the many inmates, soon Naruto found his target. Trying not to laugh, too laud, one thing Naruto though had to admit – Itachi looked dead sexy when wet. Stepping next to him, Naruto slid his hand into the man's cold one.

Itachi smiled and gave the pleasantly warm hand an affectionate squeeze. "Not bad, little fish," he praised silently.

"Not bad my ass, you _heart-attacker_." Naruto almost squealed as freezing cold hands went under his shirt and he was vengefully pressed against a thoroughly drenched body of one pissed off Shikamaru Nara.

"GHA! You're freaking cold! Get away!"

"That's what revenge is for, genius."

Naruto huffed. "What did _I_ do wrong?"

"Where in the fucking hell are we going to sleep now?!" a loud dramatic yell somewhere from the mob, which sounded indistinctly like Deidara's, finally made Naruto realize the flaw in his heedless plan.

'_Hahah. Well damn. I forgot about that.'_

…

00:45

Ultimately, as soon as the water was shut down and the system fixed, thanks to Naruto's 'ingenious' idea, the inmates had to spend the majority of their night cleaning the drenched cells and changing their soaked sheets and night-wear.

'_Well sorry,'_ hiding behind the mop, Naruto mouthed to his glaring cellmate, who tried to squeeze the water out of his mattress – it being the most wet as it was on the top bunk.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Three words: I am sorry. =/_

_& thank you so-so much for reviews:_ Savagehunger47, Terror'23, itachisgurl93, SweetHunniiBunnii, TigrezzTail, TheSmartIdiot, Akami Kitsune, I Growl For Fun, xdevil-childx, Narutopokefan, claudea, AnjoRemix, lulubeck, Miyuki1393, andysanime, SparklingKitsuneDreams, kiki2222, The Winggoddess, Reeses and Gaara, mistralle, Kitty283, IWishIWasACheescake, Xhre, Skeeezy, ikki-jazzi, Alice Hell, Zakudeath, guest, berrety, ougley & MyWeirdoEyes! XD

_I'm not sure when I'll manage the next chapter…, but at least I'll try ;))_


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 24**_

* * *

05:02

Pale hand hung in front of tired eyes that mirrored the numbers of the ticking watch. Not much sleep had come to Shikamaru during the night, even now he couldn't force himself to go back to sleep. Unlike his blond cellmate, who appeared to be sleeping like a log, he had only caught 3 hours of sleep, which was very unlike him. Throwing the covers aside, Shikamaru outstretched his aching limbs and went to wash himself, all the while listening in on the small snores from Naruto's part. He just didn't get it, how could he be sleeping so calmly and soundly on such a day.

…

10:20

As soon as the signal rang, all cell doors were unlocked and automatically opened. Taking last night's… circumstances into consideration, the guards rewarded prisoners with an extra few hours of sleep before scattering them out to their individual activities.

Dry toweling his hands, Naruto shifted his attention from the sink and towards the unmoved Nara. Standing up on the side of his bed, Naruto hoisted himself high enough to peek at his slacking cellmate. "You look terrible." was the first thing that Naruto could say upon the sight of Shikamaru. The man had small beads of sweat on his forehead, bangs under his narrowed eyes and a grim expression on his face.

"And I feel no different." hissed Shikamaru in a 'morning greeting'.

"Yes, and a good morning to you too." Smiling cheekily at the received glare, Naruto lightly petted his friend on the head. "Come on, _darling_. Don't tell me you're getting sick on a wonderful day like today."

"I could say something similar to you. It surprises me that instead of showing the least bit of sweat, you have a behavior of a seven year old boy who's about to receive a present on Christmas Eve. Are you even human, Naruto? Do you _know_ what 'stress' is?"

"Humph! Well excuse me for feeling a bit overexcited. Not all of us share your depressing cloud atop our heads, you know, you gloomy bastard."

Sighing exasperated, Shikamaru pulled the covers over his head and promptly turned Naruto his back. "I didn't sleep. _At all_. So sorry if I'm feeling like hanging that damn cloud atop my head."

"Not on my watch." Naruto pulled the covers off of the sleepy man and jabbed him on the shoulder. "Come on. Get up already before…"

"What possibly do you want from me? We don't make our move until the dark anyway. And it's just morning. I think I can afford an hour or two."

"I'm not talking abo-…"

"Morning salutations, Mr. Uzumaki. _And_ Mr. Nara!" screamed Gai, entering the cell. "How many times do I have to-…"

The rest was silenced by Shikamaru's loud groan.

…

10:50

Out in the yard, Madara leaned against the payphone, his eyes showing clear malice as he spoke in a gruff voice. "That's right. I expect you all to be there." He smirked as he spotted Naruto coming his way. "Aa, I'm breaking out of this joint. Tonight."

Naruto glanced in Madara's direction, not really paying much attention why that man was looking so smug. _'Probably talking to his _insurer_. The lecherous leech.'_ The man winked at him teasingly. Huffing, Naruto walked over to the furthest phone from the man and inserted a coin.

…

10:53

"Back it further up!" a short red haired man with round dark eyes and fiery red hair matching his beard and thick eyebrows shouted orders to a rumbling truck as it slowly backed itself through the gates and under the hanging mass of a tall trailer held by crane. "Halt it! That's enough!"

Not but a short distance from him, another trailer was hooked up to a second truck. On his right, three more empty trailers were getting loaded with large boxes.

Sealing a wooden box with a nail gun, Kyuubi marked the side of it with the number of its content and ticked a mark under the name 'arms' sector 'G' on the check list.

"Yo, Kyuubi!" A skinny man with long braided bleached yellow hair entered the redhead's occupied office, a phone in hand. His outlined green eyes matched the twinkle of his seven green earrings in his left ear. "I got a lucky call from your sweet little brother. Wanna talk?"

"I hope that question's rhetorical, Choumei." Handing him the item list, Kyuubi ordered him to proceed while he talked to Naruto.

"You do know that once you're out, we're going to have to change all the numbers you've been calling to since your stay in prison. It's likely to be one of the many things the badges are going to check after they find out of your little escape." Kyuubi lectured Naruto wisely.

"Had I been contacting you from a personal cellphone then maybe; yet I'm calling from a payphone that has like what… three callers every ten minutes of the day?" Naruto smirked. "They'll need to break a major sweat if they're gonna try and find any leads from here. But in case you're worried, so far the only ones I contacted directly are you, Choumei and Sasuke. I'm sure you two can handle changing your numbers," Naruto silently mumbled something that sounded like 'seeing that you do it almost constantly, you phone terminator', "but Sasuke will probably be pissed. Something to do with contacting his clients anew or something…"

"I'm no phone terminator! It's just hard to keep a tight hold on them is all."

"Yeah right…"

Kyuubi glared at the phone that clearly transferred Naruto's loud chuckles, "I heard that! Can we change the subject now? I need to know if you acquired that-…"

"I got the potion. Don't worry, everything's set." Naruto smiled hearing his brother sigh.

"Then I guess we can scratch out 'invading and destroying' off our 'to do list'."

"Yeah, well there's a shame, huh… What's the situation on your end? Where are you right now?"

"Fukuoka." Slugging a bag over his shoulder filled with papers and personal belongings, Kyuubi stepped out of the office and down the railing. "We're cleaning house."

A loud commotion could be heard through the phone as Kyuubi exited the silent room and entered the open sector. Men were clearing out the premises of their 'rented' base – the Ramen factory. Guns, explosives, equipment, documents and money was all packed in boxes and cases that were sealed away and taken to the truck loads.

"AH! Careful with that you horse's ass!" an enraged firy haired man shouted at Kokuou, who accidentally dropped a box on the floor. "You trying to blow us all to hell?!"

"Shut the fuck up, Son! Nothing happened! And in case ya can't read, these are manual explosives, you ape!"

Naruto sniggered, recognizing a few voices in the background. He already missed them all.

Passing the bickering duo with a small 'don't force me to shoot you two in the legs' threat, Kyuubi continued with the briefing, "As soon as we have the goods, we're heading out. It'll take some time to get the plane fully loaded though. You probably haven't heard, but other gangs are evacuating from the rest of the islands as we speak. We're all gathering at four o'clock."

"They're leaving with us?"

"Aa. You can imagine the turmoil."

Naruto nodded wordlessly, _'Two gangs from Honshu Island, three from Hokkaido Island, mine and Kyuubi's two cousins from Kyushu with twelve of their people, Sasuke, plus me and my group.'_ sigh "This will be like mayhem. I guess if we're disappearing, then we're disappearing with style, huh?"

"I don't know about style. But the flight's gonna be real tight."

"What of the diversion?"

"Depends on you. When do you start?"

Naruto understood that he meant the start of his escape. "At 9pm."

Holding the phone with his shoulder, Kyuubi set the time on his watch. "Ok. Then I'm setting time exactly 10 hours from now. Although I can't guarantee the fruition of this plane, I'll still try and buy you as much time as I can manage. Remember, you will need to run at least 10minutes to the northeast side from the infirmary wing. As already cleared, B will be awaiting you with a car next to an abandoned market. And Naruto, _try_ not to change course. You'll be running through woods. Don't get yourself lost."

"Yes-yes, I know all that already."

"I'm serious. I know that you're not too good with directions."

"My direction skills are fine, you ass!"

Placing a heavy wooden box atop another, Hachibi and Choumei exited the filled trailer and closed the doors behind a secure lock. "Alright! That's the last of it! Get ready to move out!"

"Right. We're ready to go. Naruto, I'll see you soon?"

"Sooner than you think, _nii-san_."

"Be safe." Ending the call, Kyuubi hopped into a passenger seat and nodded for Hachibi to drive.

Turning on the ignition, Hachibi pulled the horn as a sign for the rest to follow. One after another, five trucks pulled out of the factory gates and headed for the Shikoku Island.

…

12:51

Sated prisoners were leaving the dining sector. Between them a few men were seen chatting while shooting unsure glances towards the benches, where a lone figure sat.

Sitting on the benches middle rows, Naruto couldn't help the slight feel of unease coming up. His tightly clasped hands not helping him relax with all those eyes staring at him. It was becoming painfully obvious that he had suddenly become the center of attention.

Rumors were like a bad disease. Ever since Itachi, Madara and Shikamaru had joined him in on his little 'gig', trouble just kept on coming. Gossips and rumors were spreading rapidly throughout the entire gang population – in particular, Itachi and Shikamaru's. Those goons were the epitome of trouble, thinking of the wickedest plots that might be happening behind their backs involving three of the leaders. And of course it was only a matter of time until they shifted their attention from the leaders and towards the very source of this 'quandary'.

'_Why did my escape partners have to be such crude 'celebrities'?' _Naruto could almost feel those men itch for a chance to grab him and beat the information out of him. Luckily, such a thing went out of their hands the moment Itachi emerged from the sector and joined him.

"Relax," kissing Naruto on the forehead, Itachi sat behind him and pulled the troubled man to rest against him. "They won't touch you." saying that Itachi's eyes spoke of warning as they looked at Kisame and Neji, both who turned away and proceeded with whatever conversation they had with the rest of their pack.

Naruto tried to smile and say that it was not bothering him, but it was harder than he thought. Since morning, both those gangs had started watching him more than they did anything else. If this were to continue, then how could he possibly be expected to make a clean and silent escape without any notice? Not to mention two other prisoners whom he has to get inside his cell as well. _'You know what… forget about the escape, I better start worrying about my life.'_

"I'm fine." Closing his eyes, Naruto rested his head against Itachi's chest, a silent whisper passing his lips, "This is torture."

"There's no need to beat yourself over nothing." Itachi tried to be assuring. "Stop worrying, little fish."

"It would mean very little to 'nothing' if they found out what we're planning."

"They won't."

"How confident of you to say that."

"What's with this attitude?" said a rusty voice of grumpy and very pale Shikamaru, walking over to the two men like a sleepless zombie. "Not but a few hours ago you were blinding my eyes with that stupid smile of yours."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. "Shut up, Mr. Sarcasm. It's not like you have anyone after your behind right now."

"Oh of course not. My _behind_ has long since gone out of sale… unlike yours," teased Shikamaru, inclining his head to eye Naruto's ass.

Itachi couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's flushed expression.

"That's not what I meant you moron! Stop laughing bastard!" Naruto yelled at them both.

"I'm not." defensively, Itachi pulled his hands up, a grin on his face.

"Yeah well whatever. Move over, Susanoo. You're hugging the entire space." Shikamaru made himself comfortable by resting his head on Naruto's lap. Sleep trying to take him. "Don't worry, Naruto. We got your back."

Naruto snorted at that but sure did feel a bit better. Placing his hand on Shikamaru's head, Naruto murmured a small 'thanks'. _'But still… if we disappear even for five minutes, that'll surely pique more than just their curiosity. Yet what can I do? What options can I take? It'll be disastrous if they find out our plan.'_

…

15:27

Having secretly checked the corroded hole of the pipe through the drainage grate underneath the sink, Naruto was on his way out of the infirmary room when he bumped into a passing person. "Sorry," he apologies before looking up. _'Kakuzu?'_

The scarred big guy grunted under his breath as he entered the med room next. He was paying no mind to the short blond staring after him as if he held all the answers in the world, and slammed the doors shut.

'_Wait, of course.'_ Naruto almost knocked down the guards in his haste as he hurried out of the sector.

…

15:42

Medical checks were a pain. The man was seriously starting to get annoyed with all their fuss. What the fuck did they know? Half of his life he had lived without the doctors' help, he could do just fine without them for the rest of his life as well… Kakuzu stopped in the middle of his rant as he suddenly came face to face with Itachi.

"Kakuzu. I have a favor to ask."

…

16:00

They were gathered in the kitchen – Kakuzu, Itachi, Naruto, Shikamaru and Madara. The area was vacant as chef Choji generously allowed them forty minutes of undisturbed privacy. Kakuzu listened carefully as Naruto explained the situation to him. All about the planned escape, the gangs' interposition, risks and finally – reason for Kakuzu's needed help in the situation.

"We won't be able to make a move with them watching us all the time. It'll take more than half an hour to get through the infirmary and then the walls. And during that time, we'll be placing ourselves under a great risk, because the guards will no longer be our only worry, it'll be them as well. Our sudden absence might even be enough to give them a clue of what's going on. Which is why… we need your help."

"…"

Naruto swallowed lightly, Kakuzu's hard stare and silence made time slow down. _'Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.'_ Naruto turned to Itachi for some assistance when finally the man spoke.

"I didn't think you'd actually manage to get this far, fish. How interesting."

"Hai?"

"At what time do you need them distracted?"

Naruto barely missed the question, his surprise leading him a bit astray. "Um… 9pm."

Saving the information in his head, Kakuzu straightened up and said, "I'll give you 30minutes. After that, you'll have to deal with everything on your own. Those guys might be fools, but they have more than enough sense to know when someone is messing them about. You two already know that." he emphasized, glancing pointedly at Itachi and Shikamaru.

Naruto was a bit stunned that Kakuzu went so easily with all of this. He was actually not against the idea of helping them. "Thank you, Kakuzu."

Grunting out a silent 'hn', Kakuzu then turned to Itachi who gave a silent approval of his own. "I'll have the money transferred to you within the next few hours. I'm leaving everything in your hands."

'_Ah, so that's what it is then.'_ Of course, what else could he expect? Naruto felt stupid. From what he could see on Shikamaru and Madara, he appeared to be the only one oblivious to such news.

…

16:26

_Shikoku Island _

The once secluded airdrome was now brimming with life as more than fifty people were gathered in a single location. From one side it would seem like a gathering for festivity, had it not included a streaming line of fancy cars, heavily armed men and groups of people that were separated by the heads of the gangs:

Ay – a tall dark-skinned man with a large muscular build, with combed white hair and strong features – is known as the leader of one of the cruelest groups of professional mercenaries. The impressive number of his gang was just a shadow to the intimidating aura Ay showed himself in strength and power.

Next to him stood the leader of skilled assassins, some of whom preferred to be referred to as the Swordsmen. Zabuza – a dark haired male, hiding the bottom half of his face behind a tied bandana, showing off only those cold brown eyes – was closely accompanied by a young man named Haku. Like the very contradiction to the image of Zabuza and his men, Haku held an androgynous appearance with his large kind eyes and long black hair.

Besides Haku, dressed in dark blue silk hugging her slender figure up till the cut on her long dress, was a beautiful woman with piercing green eyes and long auburn hair. Mei – a cunning thief and mercenary – leading a selected group of professionals specializing in hacking, infiltration and theft.

Standing a bit further from the others and keeping his distance warily was the fourth leader. Hanzou – an average height man with long blond hair, a prominent scar on his right cheek and yellow amber eyes. Unlike his brethren, Hanzou's specialty rose by his pursuit of substances – explosives, gas, toxics and poison.

The last, a man shorter than most yet much older in experience, standing out with his bulky structure, bald head, a pipe in his mouth and an orange pet toad sitting on his head, is best known to the presented as the head leader of one of the most proficient fighters, who professionalize in combat and weaponry. But to his family, he is simply known as Gamabunta; or to Naruto specifically as the Boss. Although an afar relative to Naruto and Kyuubi's uncle Jiraiya, Gamabunta had taken it on himself to self proclaim Naruto and Kyuubi as part of his family. He knew those brats when they were just knee-high, always annoyed the hell out of him whenever he came over for a short visit. Naruto specifically was the most annoying. The man chuckled to himself. He sure missed him.

Approaching the five bosses, Kyuubi inclined his head respectfully. "Gentlemen. Milady."

The only woman in between the gang leaders smiled kindly at the gesture. "My, have you grown into a fine man, Kyuubi-chan. Last I've seen you you could barely reach your father's kneecaps, which back in the days you usually tended to cling so cutely to. And even now, you're still adorable. Aw… Minato would've been proud."

Kyuubi barely contained himself from blushing up to his ears. Hachibi and Shukaku showed no remorse to the guy's shame as they burst laughing. "If you two don't shut up now, I will throw you out of the plane as soon as we'll be crossing the ocean." He hissed at the two sniggering bastards.

"Just as hotheaded as usual, huh? No surprise there," a new voice joined their circle, "That fact just doesn't change… just like your fiery hair."

"How ya been, cousin?"

Kyuubi smirked at his two cousins. The inherited whisker-marks on their faces and those long elevated manes were a dead giveaway. "Ginkaku, Kinkaku."

The two wiry men shared similar sinister grins. "It's been awhile, cuz. Where's your sunny twin?" Ginkaku slowly examined the crowd.

"No worries. He'll be on his way soon." Kyuubi's eyes then turned to Ay's gang or more precisely – one man standing behind Ay and literally 'standing out'. Head bobbing under whatever music he was listening on his phone.

Hachibi glanced at his humming cousin and knocked him upside the head. "Oi! Listen up when we're talking!"

Pulling his earphones down, the confused man finally looked up. "Yo! Hach, Kyuu! A' had not seen you since forever, ya fools!" he shouted enthusiastically after having realized where he was.

B was fairly similar to his brother Ay, the only difference that separated them was his character, the dark shaded sunglasses covering his eyes and a bull's horn tattoo on his left cheek.

"What the hell are you talking about? You've already met us yesterday." digging out a key from his pocket, Hachibi handed it to the airheaded man, "Here. You should go and prepare yourself. You'll be leaving shortly with Shukaku."

"Oh yeah." B pushed his fist up, knocking it against Hachibi's. "I'll have the car purrin' and ready for movin'. Shukaku, be ready to receive us coming in for crashin'. Yo!"

"That crap's messing your head, bad." Hachibi grumbled at a poor excuse for a rap.

"Hah! Sorry B-man, but the only one who's going to be doing some crashing is m-GAK!"

Kyuubi kicked Shukaku heartlessly into the back with his foot. "You'll do no fucking crashing with my brother on that plane, you dick!"

"Boys these days are so sweet," giggled Mei, a dreamy look in her eyes, "Ah… if only I was a few years younger."

A man with styled blue hair glanced at his boss with a critical eye, "Only a few?" which earned him a good slap.

Zabuza rolled his narrow eyes, "If by sweet you mean fatally idiotic, I could not agree more."

"You never did learn how to properly express your feelings, Zabuza." Haku sniggered.

The man shot the teasing younker a halfhearted glare before focusing back on the redheaded Namikaze. "Kyuubi, does your bratty brother have everything under control there?"

Haku smile secretly, Zabuza was always acting so formal, even when he was worried. And by no means was he the only one. Haku was also worried for Naruto. They had befriended each other pretty strongly during the days when Pain and Zabuza had their little 'rivalry dispute' back in the UK. Those times were a load of fun. And it was ever since that time – when that boy (that reckless, stupid boy who dared barge inside Zabuza's 'stronghold') had, in some messed up way, gotten them together – Zabuza couldn't help but became a bit attached to the hyper young fool.

"Yes, he does." Kyuubi informed shortly. "If nothing goes wrong, we'll be departing a little before midnight. I believe Pain has already informed you of the situation. Though I am surprised to see you agreeing with this flight… considering its preparations. I thought you were going to stay in Japan longer."

"Things change." said Ay, as if that explained everything. "Furthermore, there are a few odds and ends we and your father have to deal with. This flight just comes to our convenience."

Gamabunta rolled his eyes at the man and blew out a straight line of smoke, "Speak for yourself, bouya." _'I personally have some family bonding to do with my wee younkers.'_

"Very well. Then I suggest you not to waste time. Our time is limited. Have your men gather all the necessary belongings into the plane and be sure to be ready by eleven o'clock. We have roughly seven hours. Shukaku." Kyuubi then turned to the dirty-blond-haired, "Escort Ginkaku and Kinkaku to the plane." By Pain's order, the two hot-blooded 'machos' were appointed as the pilots of the _Boeing 747-8_.

Shukaku of course felt bitter over the idea. "What?! But what about me?"

"_You_ should count your lucky stars! Knowing your crazy flying style, you should be thankful enough that dad allowed you to bring my brother here."

"Measly cheapskates." With a rebellious pout Shukaku led the sniggering duo to the hanger. The inside of the hanger was buzzing, men shouting and machinery working in all directions, loading cargo into the opened plane's outlet.

Kinkaku whistled, "Damn. She's a beaut'. Look at that fine ass." Shukaku knew what he meant, also staring longingly at the _Boeing_. Damnit, how he envied them, because he wasn't going to be the one cras-… flying the heavy craft.

"Speaking of your so-called father…" Hanzou looked around cynically, "When will he show up? He better not make us wait for his last minute's '_big entrance_', that showoff."

Kyuubi chuckled lightly at the comment, having a ridiculous image of Pain arriving in light silver _Aston Martin_ and stepping out of it in slow-motion – slow enough to deserve the label of an eye-candy. Not to forget the swish of his bright hair that would wave around in the air like some pristine playboy starring in a perfume commercial. _'Oh god, that's just so wrong.'_ Shaking his head, Kyuubi suddenly felt the phone in his pocket vibrate. "I assure you, old man," Kyuubi smiled cheekily at the glare he received, "He'll be here on time. After all, he wouldn't want to disappoint your expectations."

The redhead's eyes widened as he looked at the caller. _'Oh my… Don't tell me he's psychic and knows all that I just thought about him.'_ excusing himself from the leaders, he nodded to Hachibi to tend to them while he talked.

"Yes?"

"What's with this petite voice, Kyuubi?" Pain spoke knowingly, "Usually you never answer the phone with such a meek squeak. What on earth have you done now?"

Kyuubi scratched his neck awkwardly, "Err…nothing? So anyway, why did you call?"

"To inform. Kobe's National bank has changed schedule. Its closing time has moved from nine to ten."

"Ten? Damn. That's too late. But then again, a few casualties usually bring more attention, right?"

"No. You need to vacate the area before you detonate it. There's no need for victims."

"Noted." Kyuubi's brows narrowed in annoyance as he heard more than saw a familiar rumbling of _Lamborghini _pass behind him with an intentional roar from the engine. Sasuke had arrived. Kyuubi's eyes quickly searched the ground for a big rock.

"Have the others arrived?"

"Yes. Hanzou personally can't wait to see your _'big ass entrance'_." Kyuubi sniggered, having another image forming in his head.

"I'll remember to charge him with a bigger price for that remark."

"Ouch. You'll make them pay for this flight? And here I thought you were doing this favor because you're such a _nice_ friend."

"Speak for yourself, boy."

"Aw… you flatter me so. But in my defense, I only learn what I get from the best."

Pain sighed, "Then I guess that's why the saying goes – like father; like son."

Kyuubi closed his mouth for a moment. _'Like father like son, huh…'_ He was well aware that by father, Pain meant himself. He knew that Pain wasn't known as the most sentimental or compassionate of people, but it was still… nice to hear him say such… 'piteously' heartwarming words.

"Kyuubi? Are you there?"

"Dad, I…"

"Kyuubi, if you're being distracted by that stupid magazine you keep hidden in your car again, I will personally see to it that that piece of crap is burned down along with your precious _Challenger_!"

Forgetting all the warmth that gathered in his stomach, Kyuubi's smile turned upside-down, "Urgh! You old crab! Why do you always do that?!"

"Do what?"

"And just when I was about to say… Argh! You know what – Forget it! God! You're so oblivious it's annoying! And FY-fucking-I, I'm nowhere near my car!"

A silent snigger cut Kyuubi short. "Are you _laughing_ now?!"

"I honestly wonder, who's oblivious here, my dear boy."

"What are you…"

"I love you too, Kyuubi."

"You wha-… Wait, can you repeat that? Dad? Dad? Pain?" looking at his phone, Kyuubi growled, "What the hell!? He hung up?! Damnit, but I didn't hear what he said!"

…

20:45

'_Fifteen more minutes.'_ Shikamaru repeated the words in his head repeatedly, feeling nervousness creeping up with every ticking second. _'Fifteen more… God I haven't felt this nervous for years.'_ Standing before the bars and shielding Naruto away from view while he worked on unscrewing the sink, Shikamaru secretly looked over the other inmates. A few eyes were caught staring here and there, but otherwise they spoke of no great threat so far. On the first floor and from the tier across, Madara and Itachi were standing calmly next to their own groups, lying low and keeping things calm. Glancing down on his watch, Shikamaru sighed, _'Fourteen minutes.'_

…

Brushing his heads clean of sweat, Naruto walked over to Shikamaru and patted him on his stiff back. "Everything's set."

"The suspense is killing me." Shikamaru hissed through his teeth nervously.

"Relax. It'll soon be all over. …I mean in a good way of course," Naruto whispered back hurriedly to the paled man.

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

The amused blond elbowed him lightly to the side, "Don't tell me you're going to passing out on me now."

"I just might."

"Save it for later, it's too late now." Below the tier Naruto spotted Kakuzu.

…

20:57

Showing no emotion or any indicative expression whatsoever, Kakuzu casually walked up to his group and stood next to Zetsu. His eyes speaking of boredom as he then whispered to the green-haired man. Interested, Tobi leant in to listen. "What?" he asked suddenly, looking at Kakuzu in shock. "No way! Really?!" he yelled, drawing the attention of Deidara, Kisame and Hidan in seconds.

"What's going on?" Hidan questioned his cellmate.

"Havoc is happening in the kitchen." Tobi answered in Kakuzu's place, "Guards discovered that after the serving of today's supper, a severed person's hand has been found inside the boiling pot."

Kakuzu shrugged indifferently, "So much I heard."

"What?" Deidara grabbed onto his throat, disgust write on his entire faces as well as every other inmate who heard them. "You mean we just _ate_ somebody?"

"Fuck man, I gotta see this!" excited, Hidan was already running down the stars, Tobi, Deidara, Kisame and dubious Sasori and Zetsu following him.

Shikamaru and Naruto noticed that thanks to Hidan and Tobi's loud commotion some of the other inmates were also taking interest and following, including Shikamaru's own gang. Exchanging glances with Kakuzu, Naruto was given a confirmed nod.

"This is it."

Acting quick, Shikamaru grabbed the sheet and covered the bars right after Itachi and Madara entered their cell.

Pushing the sink aside, Naruto quickly ushered them to move. Madara eagerly went in ahead while Itachi lingered long enough steal a kiss from Naruto. The last ones to go were Naruto and Shikamaru. "You ready?"

"No, but do I have any choice in the matter?" Shikamaru hesitated a bit as he knelt in front of the sink. "This is it right?"

"There's no going back now." Naruto said calmly, noting his cellmate's unease. "We'll be fine. I promise."

With an uncertain nod, Shikamaru climbed through the hole.

Grabbing the back of the sink, Naruto looked over the cell one final time and entered the hole, where Madara, Itachi and Shikamaru were already waiting. The sink was pulled back into position, covering their tracks.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Firstly, I'm so sorry for the long gaps between updates;_

_Secondly, a great thank you to:_ EmeraldEyed, TigrezzTail, NaturalSam14, Nemesia23, xdevil-childx, ShEiLdEd-WiNgS, claudea, krazylittlekat, AkitaIce, Guests, ougley, Ardent Bronze, Kurokage Kitsune, Manga Ren, kiki2222, AnjoRemix, Tachi Kagahara, FoxxyWeasel, Narutopokefan, Arfa, Smile Like a Kat, Sayomi-hime, violetkisses, Conflicted Soul, Paty S, gjoyce95, Infernal Rose & baka36411! XD

_& thirdly, the next chp will be uploaded soon :))_


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 25**_

* * *

20:59

The streets were nearly void of people around the time when two dark cars stopped next to Kobe's National bank. The bank's exquisite and expensive outlook was outlined lavishly by ground lights circling the building till the very front of the large glass doors. Stepping out of the parked cars, six men entered the secured building.

…

21:06

Walk through the catwalks was fast and soon they came before the hammered out hole hidden behind the shelf. As Madara and Itachi moved the old furniture out of the way, Naruto collected the chemical he had hidden inside the hole and proceeded forward, the others following closely.

Madara scrunched up his nose as they jumped from the draining pipe and into the running sewers. "God, it stinks here. So where to now, _sweet cheeks_?"

Ignoring the man, Naruto continued to lead in silence. Halfway inside the narrow tunnel, which connected the path to the infirmary, Naruto stopped them. Further was the skew tunnel that was overflowing with water. "Alright, listen. From this point we'll have to swim through this tunnel right here until we reach the drainage area on the other end. So take a deep breath."

Going underwater first, Naruto swam through the tunnel and into the drainage area. Itachi came right behind him, looking around in confusion. Naruto pointed upwards and they swam to the ceiling where a small light could be seen coming from the grating. Shikamaru and Madara soon joined them. "What the hell now?" impatiently asked Madara. He felt cold, wet and it was becoming very hard to keep himself over the water that was pressing his head against the ceiling.

"We climb through here." Swimming under the grating, Naruto started taking out the previously cut gratings. "And keep your voice the fuck down, Madara. We're right under the infirmary. Guards can be anywhere near."

As soon as the grating barrier was down, Naruto silently climbed through the created opening and into the utility room. The place was like a small storage room. It had all the necessary tools for repairs and cleaning.

Helping Shikamaru up, Naruto told him to keep an ear open by the closed door while he climbed up a shelf and looked at the bottom of a pipe that connected the grate in the infirmary. A small hole could be seen under the pipe. Sticking his fingers into it, Naruto smiled as a piece of the corroded metal came off with ease. "Itachi. Hand me that broom."

Climbing next to Naruto, Itachi helped him kick out a wide entry for them to fit.

…

21:31

On the top of a hotel roof, situated a visual distance away from the Kobe's National bank, six men were hidden safely by the shadows. With a confirmed nod from Hachibi, they were given the go sign. "Smoke them out."

A man holding a controller nodded and pressed the top button.

Thick lower windows of the targeted bank suddenly exploded and gas filled the rooms. Not a moment later, panicking people could be seen rushing out and guard officials trying to maintain order and assess the situation.

"Think that's all of them?" asked Kokuou, wondering if the bank was now vacant of people.

"Iie. But now that we grabbed their attention…" pressing the second button on the controller, they watched as the top bank floor exploded, giving out one final warning and forcing people to back further away and the guards leave the premises completely. The third button was pressed.

"Get out! Everybody out!" screamed the guards, fearing that this might be something more than a simple robbery. "Call the firefighters here! Right now! Inform the police!"

The final detonation occurred as the main bomb planted in the center of the building went off. People screamed as a loud explosion followed and fire erupted from the huge building, destroying supports and brining the bank down to the ground.

"Nothing beats a good day unless something gets blown up to bits." Choumei cheered.

"All's set?" asked Hachibi when he spotted Kyuubi coming up to join them with the rest of their group.

"Yes."

The cheerful blond man turned away from admiring his party's handiwork and called to Kyuubi for a little bragging. "Hey! Not bad huh? Five points and no lives taken. Lucky me. I bet you couldn't do any better."

Kyuubi and Hachibi looked at him with equal smirks, "Wanna bet, Choumei?"

Sirens from police, ambulance and firefighters soon came rushing the streets.

Holding up a police scanner in hand, Kokuou listened in on how many police units were called in. "Only two units."

Isobu shook his head, "That's not nearly enough."

Kyuubi checked the time on his watch. _'21:38. I wonder if he's already over that wall.'_ Pulling out a detonator out of his pocket, Kyuubi popped the safety lid.

…

21:39

Pushing the drainage grate aside, Naruto made sure the infirmary room was empty before pushing himself up. After placing the chemical aside and making sure the doors to the room were locked and the curtains closed, Naruto headed towards the window. _'It's 21:39 now. If I'm right, night guards make their check rounds roughly between 20 minutes. So the next should be…'_

"What are you waiting for?"

"Shh…" Just as Naruto shushed them down, they saw a guard pass right under the infirmary window. As soon as he was out of sight, Naruto got to work.

…

21:41

"Something on your mind?" asked Hachibi, noticing Kyuubi stare at the watch in waiting.

"Not particularly. Just waiting for the right time I guess." Kyuubi said as he circled his thumb around the button. "This plan's like a double-edged sword."

"What gave you such an impression all of a sudden?"

Shrugging, Kyuubi glanced at the policemen who were trying to keep the people away from the burning building. _'This diversion can give Naruto a clean road with no interference from the rest of the city's police, giving him a chance to escape without anyone blocking the way; however from the other side, it can rise an immediate alarm in Konoha prison and place all inmates under immediate lockdown, which then will give away Naruto's position and he might even get caught before he makes it over the wall. What worries me is if he's still in the prison.'_ Kyuubi frowned at his own thoughts, _'Wait… What the hell am I thinking?'_

Kyuubi pressed the button on the detonator in his hand. A huge explosion suddenly went off in the central communication tower, followed by four more explosions all spreading around the city centre. _'If worse comes to worse, then who's easier to face? Konoha badges or the badges of the entire city?'_

"Holy cow, man!" whistled Choumei, watching how the detonated buildings fell to pieces, the smoke of fire and dust spreading throughout the streets. "What the hell just happened?"

"A diversion happened."

"You did vacate those areas though right?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Choumei." Hachibi scowled. "And since when did you start caring anyway?"

"It's done. Let's get out of here." said Kyuubi as soon as they heard a voice through the scanner calling all police units to head to the city.

…

21:48

Naruto could feel his heart crawl into his throat. Worry was seeping as time ticked by but the chemical had only just started taking effect and eating through the joints that were holding the bars to the window.

The first four joints came loose, leaving four more to melt.

…

21:44

Tobi felt fairly disappointed. The hearsay of them having a taste at cannibalism was nothing more than just a cheap trick. "And since when does Kakuzu crack jokes anyway?" Heading back to his cell, he suddenly stopped. Nara's cell was covered by a white sheet again. "Do they ever give it a rest?"

Giggling and feeling like a perv, Tobi decided to have a look see… just in case they were secretly sharing candy. "Ara?" blinking in confusion, Tobi pulled the cover further open to make sure it really was nobody he was seeing there. "Hrmm… but why did they leave it covered if they're not even here?"

"Tobi, you pervert, what do you think you're doing?!" yelled Deidara, entering the prison with the rest of their group.

"Ah, Sempai!" Waving at his precious Deidara-sempai, Tobi pointed back to Nara's cell. "Have you seen Shikamaru or Naruto around? I have a pondering question to ask."

Deidara arched his brow and averted his eyes to the covered cell. "They're not there?"

"Didn't I already make it clear? Man, you're slow, sempai."

"Shut the hell up, you damn troll!" Ready to run up and beat Tobi up, Deidara grunted when his cellmate elbowed him and nodded towards another cell.

"Convenient much," Sasori said airily. "Notice anyone else missing?"

"No wonder it's been this quiet so far, hn."

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed as he saw them look at Madara's empty cell where the man could usually be found resting with his gang around this time. That'll surely make them start snooping around.

"Ten minutes before night-lock!" warned the guards as they closed the main entrance to the prison.

For Kisame it should be easy to spot someone, considering how tall he was, but wherever he looked he could see neither hide nor hair of Shikamaru, Naruto, Madara or even Itachi. "Oi, Tobi! Is Itachi upstairs?"

Squinting, Tobi looked towards Itachi's cell; it was empty. "No. Maybe he's in the shower?"

"No doubt having another one of their stupid meetings," grumbled Hidan, following Kisame and Zetsu to the showers. "God, I'm getting sick of this secrecy."

…

21:51

The metal gave a distinct groan as the supporting joints broke and the heavy bars slammed against the floor.

Naruto couldn't suppress a laugh of joy. "It worked… God, it worked."

"Yes! Quick, get that window open." pushed Madara.

Averting his attention from the last barrier restraining their freedom, Itachi looked curiously at Shikamaru, who was staring at a glass shelf, too intensively in fact.

Unlocking the hasps, Naruto kicked the window open widely and closed his eyes to the fresh breeze of the night's wind that greeted him. He could feel goosebumps on his skin as his body shivered in excitement.

…

21:52

"Something's not right here. Where the fuck are they?" Hidan cursed as he checked the shower stalls for the four missing men.

"Perhaps warden called them in." Kisame tried to guess while he checked the locker rooms.

"All four? What the fuck for?"

"It's foolish to simply assume when we can't see the full picture," said Zetsu. "Let's head back. Perhaps Nara's gang knows something."

…

21:52

A feeling of a cool wind brushing against his wet skin forced Shikamaru to finally look towards the opened window. _'My god, it really isn't a dream.'_ They had actually done it. The barrier was down and what stood before them was a chance in a form of thick electric wires waiting for them to grab a hold onto and finally finish what they started. All that was left was… _'All that's left is… is…'_ Shikamaru faltered at his own thoughts as he suddenly realized the reality of all that was actually happening right now. He started feeling lightheaded.

"Come on go go." ushered Naruto. Madara was only happy to comply.

"I…" Biting his lip, Shikamaru clenched his suddenly sweaty and trembling hands, _'I can't do this…'_ Closing his eyes tight, he grabbed for Naruto's attention. "Naruto…"

"What?"

"I'm not going."

Just like that, Naruto, Itachi and even Madara froze on the spot and looked at him in shock. "What?"

"I… I'm not… going," Shikamaru whispered, barely managing to form coherent words amid the sudden presence of deep anxiety and panic. Fear had gotten a hold of him too tightly; making him reconsider all that he's about to do.

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. Was Shikamaru for real? "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I knew he would go mental one day, just didn't expect it to happen _now_. You out of your mind, Nara?!" hissed Madara.

"Go to hell, Uchiha! Don't stick your fucking nose where it doesn't belong!" Shikamaru snapped at Madara. "I _meant_ what I said! I'm not going."

"Did you hit your head or something? You must have. I mean are you fucking insane?!" Naruto was not expecting something like that. Sure, deep down he knew there was a reason for Shikamaru's hostility and alienation for the past few days, but never thought it would bring the man to such a point. And now of all times! Aggravation and stress was coming down on Naruto fast. "You can't be serious! This is not the time or the place to back out now you idiot!"

"There will be no forgiveness from the guards when they find you here, Shikamaru," said Itachi. Usually he could give a shit about Shikamaru, but right now even he could not help but question the man's mind. _'What the hell is he thinking?'_

Shikamaru shook his head. "Only two years, Naruto. I have left only two more years until they release me. If I escape, I'll be a fugitive for life, always on the run. How can I burden my family with something like this? I will endanger my child… And if I get caught…"

Naruto slapped him hard. "Listen to what you're saying! You're completely irrational right now!" Lowering his voice, Naruto looked at Shikamaru in sorrow, "It's too late now. There will be no remedy from all this. They'll find the hole and imprison you for ten more years for helping us escape. _Ten more_! Do you understand _that_?!"

"No. They won't. Not unless…" trailing off, Shikamaru glanced to the side.

Following his line of vision, Naruto spotted the glass shelf that held various types of medication.

"Not unless I can prove that I was forced. It will lesser the punishment…"

"Forced?" Naruto clenched his teeth. Shikamaru was so stubbornly holding onto that small string of barely existing hope that it was driving him up the wall. "Of all the stupid things to come up with! They won't buy it! No way! That's too much of a risk, Shik-…"

"Look, Naruto…" Shikamaru lowered his voice so only the blond could hear, "I'm scared, okay?"

"Damnit, so am I! But that doesn't mean I'm just going to drop the whole effort and raise my hands. Look how close we are! We can't back out now. I promised you we'll be fine, didn't I? And I intent to keep that pro-…"

"No! Naruto, just _no_. Don't ask this of me. I don't think I'll be able to take this. I…"

"I will kill him right now if he doesn't stop whining like a bitch and wasting our fucking time!" growled Madara.

Ignoring the pissed off man, Shikamaru stared at Naruto pleadingly. "Naruto…"

A long red arrow of a ticking clock situated on the top wall mocked Naruto's resolution. Time did not chance to stand still for him. It gave no time for him to think. With a defeated growl, Naruto seized Shikamaru's elbow and pulled him away from the other two. "Itachi, you and Madara get moving."

Itachi looked at Naruto a bit worriedly, "Little fish…"

"I'll be right behind. Go."

"Time is ticking, boy. Tick-fucking-tock! Leave that fucking idiot behind and come on!" Madara was growing impatient, "We have to get moving."

"I'm aware of that!" Naruto shot back. But he needed to help Shikamaru. "Just do as I fucking say!"

"…_Fine_." Madara hissed through his teeth and climbed out of the window. Grabbing the thick cable leading from the infirmary to the far wall, he hooked his legs around it and started climbing.

…

21:54

Genma stretched out with a loud yawn, "Man, things have certainly been boring lately."

"Feeling low on adrenaline now, are we?" asked Kakashi.

"You could say that. I mean, nothing interesting had happened for the past few weeks now. That's really dragging one's spirit down you know?"

"Hahaha! You should accompany me during mornings for a nice long run around the building, so we can beat that grogginess out of your rusty bones." said Gai, scaring the bored man with his cheerfulness. "A hundred laps ought to pump up your weakened enthusiasm!"

Kakashi gave Genma a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, and send me straight to hospital? No thanks."

"Alright men. Let's call in the night." said Asuma and pressed the signal button, calling all inmates to their cells.

"Hey you guys, come take a look at this!" Izumo suddenly called them into the guards' lounge. Grabbing the remote, he turned the volume on the TV. Live broadcasts were hitting the news, showing off locations that had suffered multiple attacks on the city. Titles read – a terror attack.

…

21:55

Across the cable Madara made it to the barbed wire lined wall. Carefully maneuvering himself around the razor wires, Madara smirked once he looked down the other side of the wall and jumped.

Naruto's hands quickly rummaged around the many neatly placed bottles and boxes, trying to find a drug that could come to sufficient use. A dark glass bottle with a green label caught his attention and he took it. It read _Midazolam_, injectable. Finding syringes in a rack, Naruto tore the package open and stuck a needle into the bottle cap.

'_This is so damn stupid.'_ "Shikamaru-…"

"Save it Naruto. I know what you're going to say."

"No you don't," Naruto glared. Shikamaru chuckled at the childish behavior, though shut up when he caught hidden sadness in his cellmate's eyes. Naruto probably felt betrayed.

"You know… I really am glad that I met you." said Shikamaru.

"Don't even try to cheer me up, Nara."

"And I'm not lying this time." the brunet smiled at the look he received.

Closing his suddenly stingy eyes, Naruto cursed his wild emotions and engulfed Shikamaru into a tight hug. Naruto never had many friends (outside his gang, family or Sasuke) who knew him for who he was and what he had done. And now to hear that one of the two friends he had made in this place was parting from him, made him break. He had become so attached to Shikamaru as a friend, Naruto could not help but feel like he was losing him forever. "You're a fool, Nara. Such a damn fool. …But I'll get you out of here yet." Naruto promised.

"I'm sure you will." Shikamaru's fingers dug themselves into Naruto's back. This was the first time Shikamaru ever felt a connection to a person, whom he now knew he could actually call a real friend; who he knew would never betray him and always be there for him.

Pulling away far enough to kiss him a final goodbye, Naruto pushed the syringe into Shikamaru's shoulder.

"How long till this takes effect?"

"I'm not really sure. It probably depends on how you use it or where you inject it. But I heard that this drug is used before surgery?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the clear question Naruto placed in the end. He might as well have said that he had injected him with a poison.

"You won't die," Naruto said with a laugh, "That much I know."

"Little fish, let's go." Itachi was still waiting for him.

Nodding, Naruto squeezed Shikamaru's hands tight before letting go. With one final glance at his friend, Naruto grabbed the wire and hoisted himself up.

The last ones left and sizing each other down, just like in the 'old-times', were Shikamaru and Itachi. Shikamaru was the first to break the intense stare with a small smile, "You know, I never did like you, Susanoo. Still don't… But I think I tortured you long enough to let you know something. …Naruto never had any affection towards me from the very start. And through his whole stay here, never did it change. Our relationship was nothing but a settled deal of mutual agreement. But somehow we were able to turn this agreement into a fine friendship. Hate to admit it, but the only thing he grew to like in this place…was you." sniggering at the surprised expression on Susanoo's face, Nara held his hand over the wounded shoulder and turned away from him. "Get going. Time is almost up."

Outside the window Itachi could see that Naruto had reached the wall and was waiting for him.

"One more thing, Susanoo." said Shikamaru. "Keep Naruto safe."

Climbing out the window Itachi grabbed a hold of the wire but not before whispering out, "Thank you, Nara."

Once he looked back at the window, Shikamaru saw no one there anymore. He closed the window shut.

…

22:00

Shukaku looked up as two cars parked outside the airstrip. Stepping out, Kyuubi ordered the others to booby-trap the cars while he headed over to the pilot, who was standing next to the _Bombardier_. "Naruto's not here yet?"

Shukaku shook his head.

…

22:01

Jumping down the wall, Itachi and Naruto quickly ran into the forest across the road. Everything was quiet and calm; the moon and stars of the night illuminated just a small portion in the darkness that had enclosed around them.

"Where's Madara?" They had already reached a safe distance away from the prison walls, yet the man was nowhere to be found.

"Here, pretty one." Madara abruptly appeared out of the shadows like some sort of dark force. And he was not the only one stepping into the light. Four more men accompanied him. Distinguishing them was hard during the night, but by their structure the men looked nothing more than hired goons.

"What the hell is this?" Naruto asked baffled.

"Slight change of plans." With no hesitation in his movements, Madara suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at Naruto.

"What… what are you doing?"

"Taking you down a few pages." Without any warning he pulled the trigger.

A silent shot rang and Naruto yelped as a bullet pierced his right shoulder, forcing him off his feet. Itachi quickly dropped next to Naruto and placed his hand over the wounded shoulder.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to do this for fuckin' _days_!" Madara licked his lips, shivering in delight at the sight of blood on Naruto's white shirt. "You know Uzumaki… it doesn't take a genius to guess what you have going on in that little head of yours. I knew that you were planning on taking me out of the picture as soon as the opportunity sparked. But look, things have suddenly changed."

"You fucking piece of shit!"

"Ah ah, Susanoo!" taking a quick step away, Madara pointed the gun at Itachi in warning. "If you try and kill me, your precious little fish dies right here with me tonight."

Breathing deeply, Itachi loosened his hold on the dagger that he had prepared to launch at Madara's head. It was true that he was in disadvantage here. Looking back at Naruto, he was quick to confirm the four guns pointed down on him.

"You know how this works, Susanoo. You can do _nothing_." Madara smirked when Itachi gave in. His crazed eyes then turned towards their wounded 'mastermind'. "Alright… now you listen here pretty boy. You _are_ going to take us all to your plane and make sure our safety's guaranteed until the very end. Why? Because you have no choice." Madara grinned, showing that cards were clearly in his favor via his goons and guns. "Break this agreement and I won't hesitate to break your boyfriend's head… or yours, whichever pleases me more. Now, get up, you little bitch!" he barked, waving his gun around, "Come on. Up!"

Naruto grit his teeth in pain, he could still feel the burns from the bullet gnawing on his bleeding flesh. "You sick freak. Have you any idea what kind of commotion you just rose?"

"Not yet I haven't." Madara averted his gun towards Itachi's head. "Now do as I say and get the fuck up before I blow his fucking head off!"

Hoisting himself onto his left elbow, Naruto suddenly stilled and frowned as he saw something move behind Madara's back. This was not missed by the insane man; Madara quickly wheeled around just in time to see a pole hit him in the face, followed by another kick to his head and then his jaw.

Startled by the sound, the goons quickly looked back at their leader. That was all Itachi needed to move; he gutted the goon that was closest to him and grabbed his gun. Three shots rang out and three more bodies hit the floor.

Naruto looked widely at the lying bodies. Three of them were killed by Itachi and the fourth was alive yet badly wounded from the shot caused by the sudden attacker. Speaking of which…

Lowering Madara's gun, the 'attacker' stood up on wobbly feet and passed the knocked out Uchiha on the ground. "I see you're still good with those invisible knifes of yours, Itachi."

Itachi sighed with a shake of his head while Naruto's eyes widened at the man he thought he would not see so soon again. "Shikamaru?"

"Surprise," Shikamaru whispered tauntingly.

"Sc-screw you and your fucking surprise! I'm about to have a blasted heart attack."

"At least it'll be from positive emotions."

Kicking the gun away from the wounded goon's reach, Shikamaru sent the swearing man into insensibility with one hit to the head. "I've never shot a person before. This one's lucky I missed anything vital."

"Always time for improvement," Itachi mumbled under his breath. "Not that he won't bleed to death."

Naruto was still shocked by his now ex-cellmate's appearance. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't really know." Dropping not too ceremonially besides the blond, Shikamaru checked his shoulder. "Changed my mind? No. I actually had this bad feeling… so I came to save you two. And in time too. Looks like you're bleeding again."

Naruto stared at him as if he was an idiot of the world, but then he chortled, "My god… You're such a moron, Shikamaru." Naruto would've hugged the lights out of him if it weren't for his bleeding shoulder. He felt so happy. "Perhaps that drug I injected you with has messed your brain cells in the wrong way."

"Which doesn't change the fact that I still _am_ drugged," Shikamaru panted out, "And my brain's about to shut down."

"Which is why we must move, now. Explanations can wait." said Itachi and grabbed Naruto around the waist, minding his injury and helping him to his feet. "Can you move?"

"Yes." Supporting himself against Itachi, Naruto glanced at Madara's slowly awakening body. "What should we do with him?"

"Shoot him in the head to make sure he stays." offered Itachi.

"That would be the easiest way out." said Shikamaru. "Shoot him in the legs instead. We'll leave him for the dogs to find."

…

22:25

"Do a thorough search. Make sure everyone's locked up!" Asuma ordered, his eyes looking sharply at the closed cells. The start of the bed count had begun with the worst news yet. An inmate was missing from his cell. And what was even worse was that that inmate was one of those Asuma always tried to keep under strict surveillance. "Any signs of Madara yet?"

"Iie. But there's another problem on our hands," Tenzou informed, "Susanoo Itachi, as well as Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto are outside their cells and cannot be found within the premises."

Asuma looked at him in disbelief. "What the hell do you mean they're not in the premises?"

"What he means is they're gone… just like Madara." supplied Kakashi none the wisely.

"Asuma. Come take a look at this," Genma suddenly called them to Nara's cell.

The other prisoners all quieted up and tried to catch a glimpse of what officer Shiranui had found there.

Tearing the sheet off the bars, Asuma's dark brown eyes hardened in rage. The sink was moved to the side, exposing a wide hole. "Where does it lead?"

"Into the bowels, the sewers and further." said Raido. "We have not yet confirmed the exact location of the breakout point, but either way it appears that we have four runners on our hands."

"Sound the alarm." Asuma stormed out of the cell and called every unit into action.

Two inmates opposite to Nara's cell suddenly yelled out, "Dudes! They have a fucking hole dug out there! We've got runners everybody!"

…

22:26

Naruto, Itachi and Shikamaru stopped as they suddenly heard the screaming sound of an alarm in a far distance.

"Already?" panted Shikamaru, feeling strength leave him faster because of the drug. "I'm gonna pass out. How much further must we run?"

"Not far." _'Hopefully.'_ "Come on!"

…

Hachibi blinked as a sudden beeping noise came from his phone. "Kyuubi. An alarm has been raised in Konoha prison."

Kyuubi nodded. _'So, he made it out.'_ "Call B and ask if he has Naruto."

"Hopefully he's already in the car." said Kokuou, "If not, cops are more than likely to get on their tail soon."

…

22:28

The cell block was no more in the stage of silence. 'Celebration' was practically taking place. Most of the inmates were showing off their deepest support to the escapees through cheers while the rest felt ire and great jealousy.

Neji was not as much pissed off as he was amused and amazed. "That fucking slacker." There was no doubt in his mind anymore, Shikamaru that bastard had kept such a plan a secret from him and everyone else since the very beginning. _'Well…, except Itachi and Madara apparently. Though I can guess how they found out.'_

Suigetsu and Kiba were losing their minds, annoying the hell out of their cellmates. But even though they were pissed at Shikamaru and Naruto for not telling them, they could not deny how impressed they were with their success.

Shino, Juugo were amongst the calmest of all. Unlike Lee, who was crying out crocodile tears, screaming for his lost friends, "THEY LEFT WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE?!"

Orochimaru watched the guards run around in amusement. It was always so refreshing when things just fell apart for others. And even more since he had a part in the cause too.

Kakuzu tried to silence his cellmate's shouts by reading a magazine louder. "That is so not fucking fair! Inconsiderate motherfuckers! Dear Jashin, how I want to fucking rip all their insides with my fucking bare hands!" grabbing Kakuzu's magazine from his hands, Hidan went on unleashing his fury onto it by tearing it apart.

Similar to Kakuzu, Sasori was having the same problem with the pouting Deidara, who whined more than he turned the cell upside-down.

Zetsu was amongst the unfortunate once, having to share his cell with an energetic monkey called Tobi, who went from crying to yelling to rejoicing.

Kisame however, was surprisingly calm over the news. Lying on his bed he recalled a few words Itachi once told him. _'If only it weren't so complicated, Kisame.'_ Right now he was beginning to understand what he meant by that; _'weren't it so complicated, I would've told you the truth.'_

…

22:28

Exiting the prison, Asuma quickly started giving out orders. "Izumo. Contact the police stations. Inform them of the situation. And tell them I want all roads secured and surrounded within the perimeter of twenty miles from the prison. If those bastards have secured a car then they're likely about ten miles from here now. Kotetsu, get the chopper up in the air."

Outside the prison the warden was already giving out orders to the armed guards. "… Some of those convicts are highly dangerous. If there's a need to bring them down, then don't hesitate."

A chopper zoomed over their heads as the rest of the men spread about. Dogs barked and cars speeded away in search.

Approaching the deputy, Izumo cleared his throat, "Um… Asuma? W-we're unable to receive police support. All units are called in on duty."

"What?"

"You saw the news, right?" Kotetsu reminded him, "The center of the city has undergone a serious attack. It's only likely that they'll be unavailable at the current moment. Besides, it'll take at least half an hour before they get from that side of the city to this."

Asuma slammed his fists against the hood of his car. "Shit! Couldn't pick a better time."

A voice suddenly cracked through the radio. "Asuma, dogs have picked up a trail."

"Where?"

"Northeast from the infirmary wing."

…

22:30

Flashes of lights not far from in front of them suddenly made the three escapees stop in worry. …Until Naruto recognized the familiar gesture.

"What's that? Cops?" asked Shikamaru, halfway hanging from Itachi's shoulder, who tried to help the drugged man move and stay awake.

"That's B."

Itachi arched his brow. "Is he intentionally trying to draw attention to himself?"

"No. He's probably just singing." Naruto smiled and ran for the parked car.

After an hour long waiting, B had gone bored out of his mind. The woods were silent in the night, nothing but a rustle of trees. It was boring. Luckily, he had just the right remedy to quell such depressing calm. Music. "Boom! Yeah! It's on, bitch nigga we'll rock yo dome, hweee…" B sang along the song that played through the radio and switched on controls for extra effects. For a moment there he completely lost all sense of time and place and was just about to hit the horn when he saw someone abruptly run in front of the car. He recognized that blond head immediately.

"Hm? Naruto?" Jumping out of the car, B pulled the blond into a crushing hug. "C'mere, bro!"

"AAH, DAMNIT! B!" Naruto yelled out in pain, forcing the startled man to drop him down.

"Oh, sorry man. Didn't see that wound there. You okay?"

"Never mind that, we have to get going. Itachi, get Shikamaru in the backseat."

Only then did B realize that Naruto was not alone. His cheerful smile dropped as his eyes carefully examined the two strangers. "So these are the tagalongs Kyuubi told me about?"

"They're not tagalongs."

"What's with that one?" B was intrigued by Shikamaru's strange disoriented movements. "High?"

Naruto rubbed his neck awkwardly, "That was not according to plan. It's a long story anyway."

"You sure they're cool?" B asked seriously, regarding the two prisoners with nothing more than distrust. "Just give me the sign and I'll waste them right here."

"It's alright. They're fine. I trust them. Both of them had actually saved me more than once."

B arched his brows and turned to Naruto with a big grin, "Really now…? Okay then. Get in ya fools! We got a plane to catch!"

Naruto sighed in relief. Getting B persuaded was no big deal; the man was a great friend and trusted his judgments. But the others… Naruto groaned, not at all looking forward to those confrontations.

…

22:38

"Four bodies have been found in the woods. Three of them dead, one in critical condition. We cannot confirm their identities yet. Still in pursuit of the fugitives." Raido's voice briefed through the radio.

Asuma cursed. _'How far can they be?'_

"Sir!" another voice suddenly shouted through the radio, it was the helicopter pilot, "Dark green vehicle has been spotted. Moving fast. Six miles from the East of Konoha prison."

Asuma wheeled the car around and headed for the confirmed location; calling all unites within that region to pursuit.

"Can you confirm the suspects?" Asuma asked the pilot.

"No. However how many more cars do you often see racing in these woods?"

"Give out a warning shot."

…

22:38

B frowned as a bright light reflected in the review mirror. "Damn. We got ourselves a nasty tail." Naruto and Itachi looked back to see the chopper following them.

"We can't escape _that_. Hold much longer till we get there?" Naruto asked.

"About a minute."

Naruto and Itachi ducked as a sudden shot blasted the back window open.

"What was that noise?" having lost his bearings completely, Shikamaru flung his arms around the seat and tried to take a peek outside. "We under attack?"

"Stay down!" Naruto and Itachi pushed him between the seats.

"_This will be your first and last warning! Stop the vehicle immediately!_" a voice commanded through the mic.

"What a fool." B made no attempt at listening and suddenly made a sharp turn, hitting the gas pedal as they came onto the road. "Here. Call your brother." Naruto caught the phone B threw at him and searched his brother's contact.

…

Kyuubi answered his phone with an impatient "B. Where's my brother?"

"Kyuubi! It's me." Naruto's voice rasped through the bad connection, forcing Kyuubi to his feet. "Listen. We're heading your way right now. Get the plane started. And another thing, there's a bird above us. They're going to shoot us down."

Kyuubi looked in the direction of distant flipping noise. He could see small light from the helicopter coming their way. Just as predicted. "Don't worry about it. We've already taken it into consideration."

…

Kneeling on one leg, Hachibi loaded a rocket into a bazooka and hoisted it onto his shoulder. Aiming it just right, he smirked as their car appeared down the road closely followed by the chopper. As soon as the car speeded right past him he fired.

…

"The car's not slowing down. It has just changed course. Heading straight for Otafuku airstrip."

"It's them! They're planning on taking a fucking plane! Open fire!" Asuma barked the order and floored the gas pedal.

"Roger th-… OH SHIT!" a sudden scream and electronic interference went through the communication line followed by a complete loss of the signal.

Asuma jumped in his seat. He had just lost the connection with the pilot. What the hell happened? "Dammit! All available units, converge to Otafuku airstrip, NOW!"

…

B wheeled the car to a stop. "Yeah boi! Made it!"

Jumping out of the car, Naruto was momentarily enveloped into his twin's arms.

"What the heck took you so long?" asked Kyuubi, gripping his brother tight to make sure he was real and alive.

Naruto dropped his head on Kyuubi's shoulder with a deep sigh of relief. "You know me. I like to stretch things out a bit." he joked, trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder Kyuubi was inflicting with his hold.

"Save the reunion! Let's go!" yelled Hachibi as he and the rest of the men boarded the plane.

Naruto quickly went to check on his friends. "Itachi, how is he?"

Kyuubi's observant eyes did not miss the tied blooded cloth on Naruto's shoulder. His brows furrowed angrily and he looked at the other prisoners who might be responsible for this. From what was obvious there seemed to be one man short. B was helping Itachi take the uncooperative Shikamaru out of the car, but there was no sign of Madara. _'Where's the third one?'_

"He's almost out." said Itachi.

"'m fiiine…" wheezed Shikamaru, clenching whatever he could hold onto for support before promptly passing out.

The amusing scene was ruined by the wailing of sirens and squad cars charging in from the surrounding area.

"You waiting for invitations? Come on already!" Isobu yelled at Kyuubi and the others. Shukaku fired up the engine.

B hoisted Shikamaru onto his shoulder and quickly ran into the plane. Naruto grabbed Itachi's hand and followed Kyuubi. The doors shut and the plane started to turn.

"Don't let that plane take off!" Asuma speeded into the airfield. "Cut its road!"

Three cars wheeled to a stop, creating a secure barrier on the tarmac, while the rest of the units charged for the plane from different sides. Officers stepped out with loaded guns.

"A little too late." said Shukaku as he pushed the speed and ran past the chasing cars.

"Take that fucking plane down!" Asuma's voice yelled through the radio.

Kakashi, Gai, Tenzou and Genma opened fire.

Bullets recoiled against the plane, some drilling holes, others scratching the surface. The passengers dropped to the ground as the plane suddenly gave a wild shake.

"What the hell!" Choumei screamed as he fell on his rear.

"All of you stay down!" commanded Hachibi and ran into the cockpit.

Itachi looked over to Naruto. He grimaced at the blood that has seeped in the cloth they had hurriedly tied around Naruto's shoulder before leaving Madara and his bastard men. He caught Kyuubi's gaze, who then told him to apply more pressure and disappeared into the back of the plane.

A red light switched on, screaming the critical condition on the landing gear. Shukaku cursed as bullets hit the windshield, splitting the glass vision.

"Speed will do very little right now if we can't gain enough distance to get over them." warned Hachibi, unsettled about the cars cutting their road.

Shukaku shrugged, gripping the helm tightly to keep the plane even and help it gain speed. "So? I don't see the problem here. Not while you're around." Hachibi smirked at the indication. Leaving the cabin he grabbed the bazooka. "B. Get the doors."

Reloading the M56 shotgun, Kakashi pressed it firmly against his shoulder, aiming for the front tires. However, his focus was suddenly stolen by the opening of the plane's side doors.

B held his cousin's right hand while Hachibi hung outside the doors and aimed the rocket. He fired.

"What the hell is that?"

"Fuck! Move MOVE!" The guards ran quickly, scurrying just a small distance away before the rocket collided with one of the cars. The heated impact of the blast detonated the engine and hit the gas tank, creating an even bigger explosion that collided with the rest of the vehicles.

The speeding plane hit the side of burning cars, forcing itself through the created gap. Luckily, wings grazed just the chippings, suffering minimal damage. Shukaku pushed the speed to its maximum. The flaps deployed and the plane got off the ground.

Asuma hit the brakes, nearly ramming into a burning car. Guards ceased fire, the plane was no longer within their reach. They had escaped.

Enraged, Asuma broke the window of his car. "Fuck!"

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thanks thanks to:_ RukaRukia, FallenGoddessOfBattle, xdevil-childx, Melrose437, Kurokage Kitsune, NaturalSam14, Neko86, AkitaIce, TigrezzTail, Nemesia23, Kyuubi's Death, Narutopokefan, ShEiLdEd-WiNgS, Stoic-Genius, EmeraldEyed, Sayomi-hime, isis-yolly, xx-butterflyofthenight-xx, Sarapf, AnjoRemix, smiles, krazylittlekat, Bitchz-B-Trippin, Guest & hananotsuki hime! ;))

_I'll try to get the next chp up soon.  
__Later for now… :)_

_Song by: Ying Yang Twins – Boom!_


	27. Chapter 27

_**Chapter 26**_

* * *

22:48

The men on the plane cheered. They were far off the ground, away from the cops and in the air. Despite his sick state, Naruto rejoiced with them, screaming loudly and freely. Itachi frankly was still in a stage of disbelieve. Had they actually just escaped? And escaped by a whisker? …Speaking of whiskers, he looked back to Naruto, "Little fish, your shoulder…"

The paled blond groaned, "Stop calling me fish. We're no longer in that place."

"Amen," commended Kyuubi, kneeling before his brother and placing an aid kit next to him. "Now then… tell me who shot you?" he asked while untying the cloth and ripping Naruto's shirt apart for an easier access.

Itachi shifted lightly, turning his eyes away for a moment before he lost himself to obscene thoughts.

"Uchiha Madara."

Kyuubi carefully checked the wound, noticing that the bullet had gone clear through the flesh. At least that was good. "Sit him in a chair, Susanoo Itachi."

Itachi picked Naruto up and placed him into one of the many passenger seats. He did not even pay attention to Kyuubi's formal addressing as he was more worried about Naruto. Upon feeling the blond's body, Itachi vaguely noticed the lack of usual strain on Naruto's muscles. Naruto felt strangely light and weak; it was something that the blond had never displayed up till now. The usually guarded look and tough charade that Naruto tended to keep up was finally slipping away. It only proved just how tired Naruto probably was. All those sleepless nights he had to spend working inside prison bowels and the inner stress of constant insecurity were finally taking their toll on him. And the loss of blood was like a salt to the wound, in all possible meanings.

Kyuubi pulled out the necessary items from the medical box and started working on 'patching' his brother up. "Where's that Madara now?"

"We left him behind for the guards to find."

"Ah… I was wondering why the third one was missing." Kyuubi looked sideways at Itachi and Shikamaru. "Too bad. I was hoping you'd leave something for me to chew on." Kyuubi winked.

Naruto chuckled at him, "I didn't want you to spoil your 'supper'."

"So…" popping from behind Naruto's seat, Choumei shot Itachi and unconscious Shikamaru a secret grin. "Which one is it, Kyuubi?"

Naruto was perplexed. "Which one? What do you mean?" But then he understood once he saw the rest of the men stare at Kyuubi in bloodthirsty waiting. Naruto took Itachi's hand securely in his and shot the rest a warning glare. "Ooh no! Don't even _think_ about it!" They all looked at the angered blond. "Shikamaru and Itachi are my friends. I do not care what the lot of you thinks! You will _not_ touch them! Got it!?"

Aside from the rest, Hachibi quickly noticed the sign of intimacy Naruto shared with the raven-haired man, which then made him remember what Kyuubi once told him about Naruto falling in love. Looks like it was no joke; and this was the man who caught Naruto's interest. But still, that did not yet make him regard the man any differently. He was still an outsider to them.

Itachi felt completely outside his element. Usually he had no trouble to face his foes, but right now he couldn't help but feel an annoying sense of fret go down on him. As if by entering the plane he had just stomped a foot inside the lions' den, and this time he was not the lion. His eyes narrowed determined and his grip tightened around Naruto's hand. Sensation was very familiar; it reminded him very much of his first day in the prison, when he had to prove his worth to tens of men who dared approach him with ill intensions. However it was also different, because these muscle-bags where all Naruto's friends, which by hurting he might risk of losing Naruto. Would Naruto forgive him if he accidentally hurt them too much?

"Hah… you can't be serious, right?"

"Zip it, Isobu!" warned Kyuubi. "All of you, leave. …_Now_ I said!"

Itachi blinked as he saw some of the men nearly stick their lower lips out before granting them a moment of privacy. Distinct personality complex was a rarity among such people as killers, Itachi was a bit confused. Yet he was also quite impressed by the power Kyuubi appeared to hold over such a rowdy bunch.

"What a killjoy."

"Shut up, Choumei." Hachibi smacked the man on the head.

Finished applying the final touches on Naruto's wound, Kyuubi patted his hands, "There. That'll do for now… until we get you to see Obaa-chan." Kyuubi smirked at the shiver Naruto gave and pushed the medical kit under the chairs. "Okay, so would you mind explaining what exactly happened after you got over the wall?" Kyuubi wanted to know everything in detail, not only about Naruto's wound but also why was Shikamaru lying passed out across the seats.

Naruto made himself comfortable, "Yes well… like I told B, things just did not go as traditionally planned."

…

23:27

Kyuubi breathed a small sigh in relief. After hearing out Naruto's whole story and making sure his brother was indeed alright, he needed time to relax himself and recover from the whole metal stress. Entering the cockpit, he plopped into the second pilot seat. "Only a little more and it'll be all over."

Shukaku spared him a quick glance. "How's Naruto?"

"He got shot. But otherwise alright. Wound's not fatal."

"I believe the perpetrator's not here?" Shukaku had no doubt he would've heard a lot of tortured screaming if they were.

Kyuubi smirked lazily, leaning his chin in his hand. "He managed to get an easier way out."

"By the way, what did you say was the name of that con?" asked Hachibi, standing in the doorway with Kokuou and Isobu next to him.

"Uchiha Madara." Kyuubi frowned, having a slight suspicion he might not like what he'll hear next, "Why do you ask?"

The bigger man exchanged looks with the bleached haired one. Pressing the button on the recorder, Kokuou played out the last record. _"…-four escaping convicts of Konoha prison: Susanoo Itachi, Uchiha Madara, Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto are still being in pursuit by the police. The convicts are highly dangerous. We warn anyone, please do not-…"_

"Local news aired this two minutes ago." said Kokuou, "So far we can conclude that that guy also got away."

Kyuubi cursed. _'Even with bullets in his legs, he still managed to get away? No. Someone must've helped him. Damned psycho.'_ But exasperation did not have a hold on the redhead for long because the news had suddenly become strangely satisfactory. "Hm. So be it then," Kyuubi smirked, "He's just postponing the inevitable anyway."

The others were not blind to Kyuubi's thoughts, and were more than appeased; because they knew that a hunt's about to come their way and Uchiha Madara's the kill.

A red light suddenly appeared on the control panel, flashing warningly.

"What's that?" Kyuubi and the rest looked at Shukaku warily.

"Huh? Oh, that's just a small warning before we land, no worries." the man grinned, which did not assure the others in the slightest. They all glared at him suspiciously. "Stop staring you asses! It's not like _I_ was the one cheesing my beautiful plane and damaging the system."

"Is there going to be a problem?" asked Kokuou, fearing that their landing might not go as smooth as one hoped.

"Nothing _I_ can't handle. …Aaaanyway, aside from the damage, I guess there's something else I neglected to tell you." Kyuubi wanted to punch the carefree man in the face, but then they'd surly crash, so he let him loose… this time.

"What," Kyuubi asked impatiently.

"This plane might be unnoticed to the eye, but it still can be caught by radar. If the police had done so, there's a slim chance that they're already tailing us. They might even discover our planned destination."

"How nice of you to brief us on such an important matter after a half fucking hour, Shukaku. I will kill you!" Hachibi wanted to head over and strangle the sniggering pilot.

Kyuubi didn't know what else to do instead of smack his face in his hands. "Get me Ginkaku and Kinkaku online."

"Sure thing, _boss_."

…

23:28

After making sure his unconscious 'savior' was alright, Naruto walked back to Itachi. He could see the troubled expression on the man's face as he gazed outside the window.

The plane was taking them calmly above the clouds and under the starry sky. The sight was very beautiful and it resembled Itachi of many things. The first to come to mind was freedom. Itachi sighed lightly. But what exactly was freedom now? What if this would be the last time he felt himself so close to the so-called 'freedom'? What if the place where he's taken to was actually his last? What would happen after the plane landed? Would Naruto still want to be with him after all this? What would-… Itachi blinked and quickly looked over to who had touched his hand.

Naruto wanted to laugh at the man who was always aware of his surroundings and usually very hard to surprise or startle. "Come." Gently he pulled Itachi along with him and led him to the plane's rear. They entered a small kitchen compartment that usually would supply light food and drinks for the passengers; but instead it held only limited amounts of supplies, like a few bottles of water, towels and guns instead of snacks.

Checking if the sink worked, Naruto soaked up a towel and then turned to Itachi. Cupping the man's face in his hand, Naruto started cleaning Itachi's dirty skin. Dust and grime that had smeared them through their little 'journey' soon came off, revealing perfect clean cheeks.

Itachi closed his eyes when Naruto ran the moist cloth gently over his eyelids. Perhaps it was a bit banal, but he couldn't deny how sweet the sentiment felt. The freshness of clean water and those soft, warm hands running over his skin… Itachi sighed gently; it was so nice.

Naruto's eyes softened when he felt the man finally relax. Pulling the towel aside, Naruto buried his fingers into those dark strands of hair and pulled Itachi into a kiss.

Descending back from clam to earth, Itachi drew Naruto's body closer and kissed back. His hands quickly found their perch on the small of Naruto's back, groping and feeling.

Naruto fisted Itachi's shirt and pulled the man closer, at the same time pushing against him fully. He was not getting enough with just the feel of Itachi's lips, he wanted to feel that strong body as close to him as possible right now.

Itachi grunted as his back was pushed against the kitchen counter. He quickly twirled them around, sitting Naruto onto the small counter and stepping in between his legs. His hands gripped Naruto's hips, pushing them closer to let Naruto feel him up.

Naruto's toes curl and his fingers clenched around Itachi's hair, tugging and pulling. He stopped the kiss to breathe out a deep moan.

Itachi closed his eyes and gasped lightly, grinding against Naruto's buckling hips. "Stop it. Or I'm going to take you right here."

Naruto grinned, rubbing his legs teasingly against Itachi's hips. "Won't that be scandalous? Everyone's just around the corner. Ten or so feet away."

"Little minx." Itachi had to restrain himself from staying true to his threats. "Since when did you turn into a pervert?"

Naruto gasped as Itachi bit him on his neck to stop his fidgeting and teasing. "Blame excitement… throughout this whole day," breathed Naruto. "I can't believe we managed to get away. Just a few more minutes and we'll be free."

Itachi stopped at those words. Planting a light kiss on the hickey he made, he buried his face in Naruto's neck, hugging him close. "What's going to happen when this plane lands?"

"Well… once we land in Shikoku Island, there will be another plane waiting. It'll take us across the ocean to the U.S. We'll make a brief stop there, drop off a few passengers and then we'll be leaving again, but…"

Itachi interrupted him, "No. What I meant is – what's going to happen to us?"

"Us?" Naruto pulled Itachi at arms' length. His eyes dimmed in worry seeing Itachi's emotionless ones. "As in… w-what? What do you mean? Do you… do you not want us to give a chance at _this_?"

"What?" Itachi blinked in startle, he didn't mean it like that, of course he wanted to be with Naruto. "No, of course I do!" _'I'm not about to part from you, Naruto.'_

Naruto was secretly relieved. "Then what is it? Do you not trust me?"

"I do."

"Then stop worrying," Naruto kissed the corner of Itachi's mouth. "I won't let any harm come to you."

Itachi shook his head lightly, _'I'm not worrying about my life. I just don't want to lose you.'_

"I know that you think once this plane lands we'll be parting ways… But I don't want that." Worrying his lip lightly, Naruto fiddled with the hem of Itachi's shirt, his eyes looking at everything except the man. "Itachi… I really want you to come with me. I want this thing to work out. This… whatever this is you and I have."

"Love?" Itachi offered with a smirk.

Naruto chuckled lightly, his cheeks turning a shy hue of pink. "I want it to be love."

Itachi's smirk dropped and his expression changed serious. He pressed his lips forcefully against Naruto's, coaxing him to open his mouth and lose themselves in the moment and passion. "I will give it to you. Just let me." Itachi said between kisses.

Naruto arched his back as cold hands touched his spine, baring his neck to Itachi's assault. "Will you… come live with me?" Naruto whispered timidly.

"No," Itachi cupped Naruto's cheek, caressing his face gently. "Because you will come live with me."

"What's the difference?" the blond chuckled.

"My duty." said Itachi, "I have to make sure to please my _mate_."

Naruto purred in lust, "I'm already _pleased_."

"Listen." continued Itachi, "There's not much I can offer you at the current moment," Naruto shook his head, saying he doesn't want anything, but Itachi cut him off, "…at least not until I make a few calls."

Naruto tilted his head, a bit curious. "What… You have hidden treasure or something?"

"No. Just an insurance I had handed over to one of my few friends for safe keeping… meant specifically for such an occasion as this."

Naruto gave him a dubious look. "So you had already predicted that you're going to escape beforehand?"

"Not exactly. I just thought if I ever have a reason that's worth the risk of escape, then I should prepare myself."

"Oh yeah? And what was that reason this time?"

Itachi showed the barest of grins, his gaze boring into those wide blue eyes. "Isn't it obvious?"

"I'm gonna be sick." The moment was completely ruined by an intruding person. "Good God, Susanoo, have you always been this… _mushy_?"

His hair a complete mess, eyes unfocussed, expression ill and completely white …Shikamaru never looked worse.

"You're awake!" overfilled with joy at seeing his friend, Naruto completely discarded the previous mood and jumped the brunet into a 'bear' hug.

Not able to support such an enthusiastic greeting with the drug still leaning heavily on his body, Shikamaru and Naruto fell to the floor.

"Yes, how _nice_ to see you well," Itachi hissed, really hating Nara right now for ruining everything. Bastard just couldn't stay unconscious for another hour, could he?

…

23:35

"How much longer till you descend?" Kinkaku's voice spoke through the speaker.

"Roughly ten minutes, give or take." Shukaku answered.

Another voice snorted mockingly on the other end of the line, "Good. That'll give us enough time to clear the road and hide our hides from your artful landing." it was Ginkaku.

Kyuubi broke into a laugh, while Shukaku hollered back, "Shut your yap, Ginkaku! My piloting skills aren't artful. They're unforgettable, let alone beatable."

"Whatever, man. We'll see you shortly." The connection ended.

…

23:40

"Everyone clear off the field! Turn on the lights!" Son's voice yelled from the tower, warning the last of people to leave the landing field.

Two handles were pushed up and the field was illuminated with bright lights, revealing a road that stretched for miles.

Three cars rolled to a stop next to the flight control tower. Five men stepped out, staying close to the vehicles and overlooking the airfield. Silent purrs of _Aston Martin_ soon also silenced down, its lights dimming lightly. An average aged man with spiky orange hair, pale skin and piercings running over his ears stepped out. His soul piercing leaden eyes looked up at the approaching plane.

…

23:43

They were preparing to land. The previously neglected red warning signal suddenly started beeping repeatedly, until Shukaku broke it with his fist. "Shut up! I know already!"

"What's wrong now?" Kyuubi asked, coming behind him.

"Nothing _too_ tremendous, …just a damaged gear. Though don't ya worry, chances of survival are possible…, if you're lucky!" flashing his friend a mad grin, Shukaku gripped the helm in both hands and suddenly pushed it down.

Kyuubi fell off his feet with a loud curse. The engines started running wild as the plane started descending at a rapid pace.

…

23:42

Still grinning, Naruto helped dazed Shikamaru stay on his feet and guided him inside the kitchen. "You missed so much fun. How you feeling by the way? Want some water?"

"Where the hell are we?" Shikamaru held his head tenderly, trying to recall how on earth he got inside a room that had the tendency to move from time to time and make his poor ears pop.

"We're on the pla-…" Naruto gasped as the proclaimed plane suddenly tilted and he fell forward, with poor Shikamaru cushioning his fall.

Itachi pushed his hands against the wall to steady himself. "What's going on?" It was obvious that the plane had abruptly made a 45degrees sharp tilt. But planes weren't supposed to land with their noses down, unless they were falling.

"Shit! We're falling!" Shikamaru paled even more once he looked outside the window. "Oh man this will be such a pain!"

Naruto grit his teeth and quickly got to his feet. "We're not falling. It's just stupid Shukaku landing."

…

Storming into the cabin and nearly tripping over the groaning Kyuubi lying on the floor, Naruto gripped the pilot's seat to hold himself steady. "Shukaku, if you crash us, I'll kill you in the afterlife!"

"Aww… com'on Naru-chan. Why must our last minutes together be so hateful? Why don't you live in the moment and think back on the times when we were the Jinchuuriki?"

"That was the greatest mistake in the history of my life, fool!"

"Hah! I know!" laughed the man and finally pulled the helm on himself, straightening the plane and forcing Naruto and the rest of passengers completely off balance.

…

23:45

Pain smirked when the plane finally come down the enlightened road, landing sharply yet steadily. All seemed smooth with the first screech of the main landing gear, however, when the front gear touched the road, it broke. The plane slammed against the ground with its nose first, scrapping against the rough surface and bringing the whole body mass of the plane into a costly damage.

Closing his eyes, Pain heaved in a deep-deep breath to settle his nerves. _'Shukaku. He costs a million per each landing. Stupid boy.' _Fortunately for him, the plane's going to rubble anyway. Leaving the sidelines, Pain followed the rest of the men to the steaming craft.

…

23:46

As soon as the plane stopped 'coloring' the road with its body, Shukaku let the yoke go and shouted out in glee, "Damn! That was some ride! Maa… too bad it didn't blow u-OOW!"

After punching the stupid pilot on the head, the Namikaze twins stumbled out of the cabin of the awry plane.

Kyuubi quickly caught his brother before he could get to Itachi and Shikamaru. "Not so fast, brother. I have an errand for you."

"What? But I-…"

"Ah ah. First, I want you to get off this plane. It'll make me feel much better once you step foot on solid land. Besides, there's someone who wants to see you firsthand. Your friends can wait." Naruto was reluctant to move. He didn't want to leave Itachi and Shikamaru alone with his vulture gang. Kyuubi of course knew that and was quick to calm him down, "Don't worry. I'll make sure nobody touches them."

Nodding hesitantly, the blond did as told and jumped out of the plane. Naruto took his time looking around the large terminal. Vivid lights illuminated the whole field. _Boeing 787-8_ was just being driven out of the hanger. Bright projectors that enlightened the roads gave a respective appearance to the massive aircraft and heavily armed men that surrounded the airport. Upon sight he could recognize every man out there. Naruto smiled, it almost felt like home. From his left, a few silhouettes could be seen approaching him, their faces shadowed by the background lights. Brining his hand over his eyes, Naruto squinted against the light before a sudden realization came over him. His eyes blinked wide as soon as they recognized the person in the middle. Naruto couldn't help himself as he grinned and ran towards the one man without whom all this wouldn't have been possible.

A small smile adored Pain's strong features and he opened his arms invitingly. A small grunt left his throat when the blond jumped into his arms and trapped him with his hands and legs, like a hyper koala bear.

Burying his nose in the man's neck, Naruto whispered just one word that could ever bring him more happiness and feel of safety than it did now, "Dad."

Closing his eyes, Pain's arms tightened affectionately on his boy's little body. Whatever the others thought and witnessed didn't matter, all that matter to him was that his boys were safe now.

"I missed you so."

"As did I." Pain brushed a light kiss against Naruto's forehead. His eyes glimmered warningly when he caught his men grinning. Understanding the message clearly, the men steeled their expressions and quickly looked away, valuing their lives and respecting the private moment.

After basking in a minute of silence, Naruto suddenly blinked as if he finally remembered something. "Hey, wait a minute. You're not supposed to be here." Pushing pleasantries aside for a moment, Naruto shot his father a scolding look. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"How could I stay away?" Pain said, a smirk on his handsome face. "I had to make sure with my own eyes that my sons are in one piece."

"I told you I'd be fine!" The blond turned his head away with a dramatic huff. "Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Don't give me that, you presumptuous brat. As if _you_ ever listen to _me_."

Naruto's cheeks visibly puffed. Pain inwardly smiled at his same old goofball; though that smile did not stay there for long once his eyes caught the sight of Naruto's bandaged shoulder. His aura darkened in an instant. "What the hell is this?"

Naruto paled and bit his lip, "Umm… flesh wound?"

…

Kyuubi smiled at the scene he witnessed once he and the rest of the 'passengers' left the craft. Feeling a sudden drop in temperature, Kyuubi's eyes looked keenly at Itachi. The man practically froze up when he saw Naruto jumping in another man's arms so eagerly. Even though he did not show it, somehow it was quite obvious to notice that huge portion of jealousy dripping off of him in waves. Kyuubi chuckled to himself, he guessed Itachi couldn't find the resemblance between Pain and Naruto and therefore could not guess right away that the man was actually his adoptive father. Then again he couldn't blame him, at times Pain did not even look his age and for some he seemed much younger than he really was. Him and his slightly punkish style had thrown others off more than once. No wonder Itachi felt a bit… _threatened_.

Blinking against the bright lights, Shikamaru suddenly had difficulty breathing as soon as his sight came to visuals, _'Where the hell have I gotten myself into?'_. The second (if not the prior itself) worse thing after the police had to be Naruto's so called "family". He had already counted thirty people in the terminal surrounding them with heavy weaponry and threatening approaches. Those cold arms in their hands were perfectly underlining the meaning of a nonexistent gesture of friendliness. He thought he already had enough by spending five minutes alone with Naruto's gang in that _Bombardier_, but this… Shikamaru suddenly felt ill again. _'Oh man, I'm gonna die.'_ To exhale his troubled thoughts, he started asking questions, "I can see that we're in the airport, but where are we exactly?"

"Shikoku Island," provided Kyuubi. "On our way to leave Japan. Though I ain't too sure about you."

Shikamaru gulped; that didn't make him feel better at all. A bunch of more questions and possible answers flung themselves upon him. Most of which concerned the question of what's going to happen to him. And possible answers came out none the better. He glanced at Itachi discreetly, wondering if the man shared the same dilemma. Though Itachi seemed more concentrated on staring an orange-headed man to death, who appeared to be scolding Naruto about something they could not hear, while the blond tried to animatedly explain his mind. "Who's that?"

Kyuubi looked at where Shikamaru was pointing before glancing back at Itachi in thought. He really wanted to tease the dark-haired man and form a nasty lie, but knew that if he did that, Naruto would hate him and kill him all together.

"That's Pain." Kyuubi replied, giving out no more information than obvious. He smirked when he saw Itachi's hands clench into fists for a brief moment. The man was probably expecting more than just a name to keep the hopes up. _'Well aren't we possessive?'_

Shikamaru arched his brow at the strange name. "Pain? Is that an alias?"

Faster than Kyuubi, B answered instead, "Pain's our head leader. He's a caring father too." B didn't see or simply ignored Kyuubi's thrown glare; and unknowingly he eased Itachi's worries down.

"Father?" Itachi asked to make sure he heard right.

"Despite him being a coldhearted fiend, Naru and Kyuu were raised by him. Hard to believe once you get to know him."

Itachi felt like smacking himself. This new possessive side of his might get him killed if he's not careful.

"_Thank you_ for enlightening them, B. I think that would be _sufficient_ for now. …Keep an eye on them for a minute, alright?" Leaving Shikamaru and Itachi with the 'ruiner of his fun', sulking Kyuubi headed over to Pain and Naruto.

…

The orange haired man sighed in exasperation. It was useless reasoning with the hotheaded blond. The brat was reckless, unbendable and never listened… just like Kushina. He looked back at Naruto's shoulder, grimacing involuntarily. He hated seeing his charges hurt, even when it was just a harmless scratch.

"I'm okay, dad. Really. I'm standing right here, aren't I?" Naruto approached softly, knowing that sometimes Pain just took this whole guardianship a little too seriously.

Pain however did not think so. The moment the Namikaze twins got pushed into his life had practically become the very meaning of his following existence. At the very beginning, Pain had regarded it as just another duty or a plea requested by his friend – to watch over the boys. But later, it became apparent that he could no longer continue regarding them as part of his duty. The boys had changed him and made him start developing his own personal feelings for them. They had become his family. A family he wouldn't exchange for life. Perhaps the others were right, he was a bit too overprotective… but those were just their thoughts.

The man frowned at the blond and placed his hand on Naruto's wild locks. He was well aware that Naruto was strong and smart enough to take care of himself, but sometimes he was just so… so… With a defeated sigh, Pain messed up Naruto's hair, "You're just too much to handle, you little imp."

Naruto rewarded him with a bright grin.

Kyuubi smiled to himself, seeing his brother and father finally resolve their argument with Pain's unwilling compliance to Naruto's will.

Feeling the redhead's presence, Pain greeted his second son with a small smile. "Kyuubi."

"Hi dad," Kyuubi whispered silently, making sure the others did not hear his affectionate side.

Naruto grinned. Pain and Kyuubi were so similar in their tough character sometimes. One would think that the redhead really was Pain's flesh and blood. It was quite funny how they shared their character. But that's when Naruto remembered something else that Kyuubi and Pain shared in common. And that was their dislike towards other criminals, especially those they did not know or didn't want to know. His eyes quickly searched for Itachi and Shikamaru.

Kyuubi caught the action and decided to cut to the chase. "Naruto. About your…friends." The redhead's emotionless voice grabbed Naruto's attention momentarily.

"What about them?"

"Something I need to know. I'm already aware what you're feeling towards Susanoo Itachi, so I guess there's nothing much I'll be able to say against him." Naruto's eyes widened and he blushed, not understanding how Kyuubi knew about his affection towards Itachi. "But regarding Nara Shikamaru…" the redhead continued, "What do you plan to do with him?"

Pain kept a close attention on his two sons, wondering the sudden change in the mood. Even if he was a bit perplexed at what they were talking about, he did not show it. Instead a quick look towards two unfamiliar faces and a brief analysis helped him gather all the pieces together. Pain's expression became blank once Kyuubi spoke of Naruto's feelings and some guy in one sentence. His fingers twitched out of habit, aching to grab the weapon behind his back and unload a few bullets.

Naruto didn't like Kyuubi's question. "Do with him?"

Kyuubi lowered his eyes towards his gun that was kept in a holster close by the hip. Naruto did not take the gesture lightly. "I understand if others can't accept it yet. But I was hoping there would be no need to explain myself to you, Kyuubi."

The redhead's resolve did not change. "You've known him only for three months, Naruto. How can you be so sure about him? Not to forget, you've known Susanoo Itachi even less and already you're showing such trust for him…"

"Shikamaru is a good friend. I don't want to kill him just because others don't or refuse to trust him. And Itachi too! Ever since I got to know them, Shikamaru and Itachi never once gave me a reason to doubt their trust. I won't allow you to shoot either of them. And you _know_ that I will stop you if the occasion asks for it."

Kyuubi gave his brother a long equal look before a small smirk showed on his face. "There's no changing your mind, is there?"

"None whatsoever." Naruto answered the same.

"Well then, I guess there's just one more person left to convince."

Pain blinked in startle when both boys suddenly turned to look at him. Their expressions too similarly keen even for twins. An unspoken question about this Itachi and Shikamaru's fate hung between them. Half pleading, half determine, Naruto stared at Pain in waiting. Nice try though, too bad for them, Pain had developed an immune effect to persuasive looks (thanks to years of raising two particular brats).

Pocketing his hands and rising his chin superiorly, Pain said straight, "Right now is not the time for this, boys. Your two friends may come aboard the plane. However, whether it will be their last ride or not, depends entirely on them."

Naruto closed his mouth before a loud protest skipped out. There was nothing he could do now. Not when Pain was dead-set on his decision. He just hoped Itachi and Shikamaru would not give his father a reason to throw them out of the plane.

Kyuubi shook his head,_ 'Sometimes he is just like Naruto. When he sets his mind, there's no changing it.'_

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thank you so so much:_ RukaRukia, xdevil-childx, Melrose437, EmeraldEyed, Kyuubi's Death, itachisgurl93, AkitaIce, TheSmartIdiot, SweetHunniiBunnii, TigrezzTail, barbieater, gjoyce95, Xhre, GabbyUzumaki, AnjoRemix, ShEiLdEd-WiNgS, Narutopokefan, The Winggoddess, ofuku, WingedCloudsofStrife, Guest, Stoic-Genius, Sara8, e7fgr7hj, KrazyKeke, krazylittlekat, baka36411, Kurokage Kitsune, 7thDwarf, hananotsuki hime, lulubeck, nunya, Chelseam2, Rennousuke, yaoilovelove & NiChee! :DD

_& again, I'll try to get the next chp up soon ;)) _

_Basically the ending of this story is slowly nearing XD_


	28. Chapter 28

_**Chapter 27**_

* * *

00:00

The engines were warmed up and the craft was ready to be taken off the ground. Sealing the doors and closing all hatches, Ginkaku and Kinkaku nodded to each other.

"Ready?"

"You bet. Let's get her up." Guiding the _Boeing_ upon the runway road, Ginkaku gripped the throttle and pushed it, rapidly speeding up the plane's movement. As soon as it reached the required speed, Kinkaku deployed the spoilers and the front gear of the plane left the road, soon followed by the rest of its heavy mass that took into the air and completely off the ground.

Feeling the plane finally leave the rough surface and glide steadily into the smooth, boundless sky, Naruto opened his eyes and loosened his hold on the plush chair. He felt relief; they were finally leaving the land.

The man in front of him showed a brief smile. "Have you calmed yourself?" Naruto grinned at his father, he felt pretty content, yes, though still couldn't help but not believe that all this mess was finally over. It was hard ignoring the fact that (among other things) he had now officially become a fugitive and would have to keep himself on guard twice as much as he had before.

Pain frowned when Naruto breathed out a heavy sigh, no doubt filling his mind with poisonously unnecessary thoughts once more. "Don't let the past cloud your paths, Naruto. Try to look towards the future." Digging inside his pocket, Pain pulled out a detonator.

Seeing the device, Naruto's eyelids lowered in understanding, "Ah."

Pain pressed the button. Even though they were long since up in the air, Naruto could still hear a faint sound of an explosion over the loud hums of the engines. Looking outside the window, he could see how the airport of the Shikoku Island got destroyed by multiple explosions that followed in repeated synchrony, as if making sure to erase the very last rock from its path.

"That really wasn't necessary, you know."

"Iie. It was." said Pain, leaning back in his chair, "Computers are unreliable; they leave trails that are too easy to follow. Plus, that base stored an indelible data of you and your brother. I had to make sure to keep it from getting in someone else's hands."

"What of the other planes?"

"Minor setback."

Naruto felt a bit ashamed for making his father go through years of hard work and scheming, only to have it all annihilated the second he got himself caught and imprisoned. "I'm sorry."

Pain arched a brow at his son's words, "Sorry?"

"I didn't mean to screw up and bring this much trouble. And get the entire _family_ involved… I just-…"

"Naruto." a deep sigh from his father stopped Naruto in the middle, "If you think that money, papers or a bunch of second-rate criminals such as that swarm in the back is more important to me than you or your brother, well then… I guess I was a lousy guardian." Pain petted Naruto's head lightly, "Don't ever think of yourself as a burden. There's nothing more important to me than you and your brother."

"Un," nodding, Naruto looked at his silent sibling, who should've started teasing their father by now, for speaking such rare and caring words. Though silence was explained by steady breathing and tightly closed eyes. Kyuubi was asleep; lying on a small bed in Pain's private cabin.

Pain's eyes softened at the sight, a light feeling of nostalgia coming over him. "I believe this is the first time since five days that he had allowed himself to finally rest at ease."

Naruto was shocked by the discovery. "Five days? He didn't sleep at all?"

"No. Hachibi told me that he had been up practically 24/7. Occasionally driving off to let out some steam… but otherwise he just drifted off only for an hour or two before forcing the gang back to work. He was quite a slave driver." The man actually chuckled at that, amused to think how the redheaded 'demon' had chewed on the gang's heads during those past days, only to make sure all's ready for the arrival of his just a few minutes younger brother.

"He does look tired. I didn't even realize." Naruto thought as he caught the formed dark circles under Kyuubi's eyes. "Should we maybe allow him to rest in silence then?" though before Naruto could stand up and leave the room, Pain spoke up something that made him freeze.

"Susanoo Itachi… Who is he to you, Naruto?"

A small blush appeared on Naruto's cheeks and his mouth opened slightly. Of course Pain would not forget to question such an important detail that loudmouth Kyuubi had blabbed out. _'Kyuubi, you bastard. I know you did it on purpose! …If I find out that you told father anything else without my consent, I'll strange you!'_ Sitting back down, Naruto refused to meet his adopted father's eyes. "Itachi? He's… well he is… you know…" stammering between words, Naruto fiddled with his hands, "…my boyfriend," at the end of his prolonged sentence Naruto's voice dropped till whisper, forcing Pain to sharpen his ears.

For a moment Pain didn't say anything, just stared at the fidgeting blond without a care. Although it might have looked that way, but Naruto noticed plenty of signs that showed that Pain was clearly displeased. For example, like how Pain's teeth clenched behind thin lips, or how his pupils seemed to darken, or even how his nails were digging themselves in his fisted hand. "Is that so?"

Naruto gulped, "Dad, please. He's really a nice guy. I'll admit that he might seem a bit… apathetic, secretive and perhaps arrogant at times, but he's really nice to me. And… and I… I really like him too."

Pain's narrowed eyes shifted to look outside the window. He appeared to be lacking interest by now, though Naruto knew that he was just turning what he said to him in his mind.

"It is obvious that you seem taken by him enough to trust him, Naruto. Though don't expect me to do the same." Naruto felt joyous hearing that, it meant that Pain was leaning towards acceptance; though what Pain said next made that joy start to slip away. "But do listen. From this point on, Susanoo might no longer be what you saw him as in the prison. When a man is set free, his being changes – whether for the worst or for the better. In any case, you might just not realize that the man you fell in love with was but a shadow behind which he hid."

Naruto fell silent. He didn't believe that the Itachi he knew was just an 'act', however the fact Pain pointed out was true. He knew nothing of who Itachi was or what he had done – what kind of a man he really was before and what could he become from now on. Would he change? Would freedom change him? Would he still cherish their relationship and stay with Naruto as he promised?

"I'm not saying this to spite your choice my son. Nor am I doing this to separate you from Susanoo just because, frankly, I don't like the man." Pain continued, "I just don't want you to get hurt."

There were a lot of things Naruto still didn't know about Itachi. Some made him curious and others made him scared. But there was one thing he knew for sure – that sooner or later, he will find out everything that was and is Itachi Susanoo. _'And no matter what might stand in the way, I will get through this.'_ Naruto stared at the ground with a sad smile, yet he was determined to face what might come. "I know, dad. Thank you."

Studying his son's reaction from the corner of his eye, Pain made sure Naruto understood everything he said to him and knew how to proceed from this point on. And whatever he might choose, Pain will try and respect his son's choice. Though in case things do turn out for the worse, Pain would have no problem to add another name to his 'blood book'. After all, the moment Itachi entered the plane he had already assigned himself a 'trigger pointed directly at his head'. It would not matter if the man turns out to be a good guy in the end, because all it will take is for him to mess up bad for that trigger to go off.

"I was actually expecting to see three people following in your plan. Though apparently things became strained at the end." Changing the subject for now, Pain's eyes meaningfully lowered towards Naruto's bandaged shoulder, the gesture speaking out loudly for itself. "Uchiha Madara was the third escapee, correct? But he escaped…"

Naruto hissed at the mention of Madara. He was pissed enough that the man managed to escape, despite their inflicted damage on him. _'But I'll get him yet.'_ Naruto promised himself.

"And then there's Nara Shikamaru, who's currently on this plane… along with your potential interest."

Naruto looked up; Pain's unreadable voice unsettling him.

Pain did not miss the rebelliously guarded look Naruto was giving him, as if already feeling what he might say about his ex-cellmate. And that was something that Pain found very interesting. As far as he was aware, Naruto didn't have friends that he would stand up for (except perhaps Sasuke). And this Shikamaru Nara appeared to be a really good friend to his blond son, good enough for Naruto to willingly protect him. Smirking to himself, Pain shifted his gaze towards his second son, deciding to test if his theory was true. "You know… Kyuubi once told me that out of all three, only one is worth sparing. Seeing that Uchiha Madara is currently out of the picture, that leaves us with only two left. And as far as I'm aware, one of them has already gotten close enough for you to will him the title of your boyfriend. But… what should I think about the other one then? Should I guess that he's not as important as Susanoo… or the complete opposite?"

Naruto had to waste an entire minute to calm himself down and not jump on his sleeping brother, only to strange him for giving his father such a thought in the first place.

Spotting heated fire light in Naruto's eyes, Pain hid his smirk behind his hands. "So tell me, who from the two on this plane would be more worth keeping alive? Susanoo or Nara?"

In the end, Naruto's restrain was broken and he lunged for his brother. And he would have done some serious damage too if Pain hadn't intervened and pried him away from Kyuubi's neck.

…

01:19

Itachi and Shikamaru were separated from Naruto the moment they entered the plane. They understood that Naruto had to reacquaint with his father and brother first and foremost, but that still didn't make them feel as forgiving when they got abandoned in the middle of a bunch of killers.

Thankfully, B has been a great help and company most of the time, making sure to explain what was unclear and keep them out of possible harm's way. His cousin Hachibi, who was still regarding them with a dubious look, had calmed down around them, which, however, couldn't be said about the rest of them. Half of the gang felt rather nonchalant towards the two prisoners while the rest didn't even try to change their opinions of them and regarded them with cold stares.

The moment the plane got off the ground Itachi and Shikamaru secluded themselves away from the gang and the rest of the passengers, which they had seen boarding the plane and heading for the selected classes. It had been rather amusing when some of them even tried to argue who should stay in the higher class while the rest took the economy class. For the two escapees it was more than enough that they were allowed on the plane at all. For all they cared, they would simply agree to sit on the ground inside the luggage compartment if that meant that they could fly in this plane.

Descending the stairs of the VIP section, Naruto grinned wholeheartedly when he saw his two friends hanging around in the galley. Following the blond down was Kyuubi, who was tenderly rubbing his neck for some reason. The redhead snorted at Shikamaru and Itachi and headed for the business class, while Pain simply cast them a quick glance before proceeding towards the conference room, where the mob leaders already awaited him. Though not before saying something to Naruto, which Itachi and Shikamaru could not hear; but from the look on Naruto's expression, it wasn't anything unpleasant.

"He is?" asked Naruto surprised.

"He's currently residing in the business class. You'll meet him there." with that Pain continued on his way, leaving Naruto to deal with his two …friends. He himself would deal with those escapees after the meeting.

"You two ok?" asked Naruto as he approached them.

"Other than constantly fearing for our lives? …Yep, we're pretty fine." drily joked Shikamaru, earning himself an elbow from Itachi.

"I'm really sorry for putting you through this," Naruto apologized sheepishly. "But don't worry. I'm not going to let dad actually throw you out of the plane or something…"

Shikamaru froze in fear, wondering if that was actually an option or was Naruto just messing with them.

Itachi however did not seem bothered by the possible threats as he was more taken by pulling Naruto into his arms, "Is your father always this _nice_ towards your new friends, Naruto?"

"He's even 'nicer' towards my boyfriends." Naruto grinned at him teasingly; for a moment letting himself forget about the conversation he had with Pain about Itachi. He just wanted to relax from all the stress and pressure he had endured.

"Tough luck for you, _Romeo_!" Shikamaru winked at Itachi, who sent him a murderous look. "Though I must say Naruto, you really do have a wickedly prosperous family."

Naruto chuckled at his ex-cellmate. "You haven't even met half of them yet. Though speaking of which…, what about your girlfriend? She aware that you escaped?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes with a small sigh. "I told her to leave the country two weeks ago… just in case. She did. I wasn't actually sure then if I wanted to escape… Right now, she's waiting for my call."

Naruto smiled, glad that Shikamaru had someone that was there for him and would not abandon him when support was most needed. "You really like her, don't you?" asked Naruto, wanting to know if their relationship went beyond the responsibilities of raising a baby.

"She's been my best friend since childhood. And, yes, I do like her… and miss her."

"Where do you two plan on meeting?"

"The destination this plane is heading is conveniently close enough for me. We decided on Canada. It'll take some 'sneaking', but I'll get there …eventually."

Listening to what Shikamaru said made Itachi think over where he and Naruto should start their lives. Resting his chin on Naruto's head, Itachi tightened his arms around Naruto's waist, his mind drawing pictures of a house near the ocean.

"Shikamaru…" Naruto's voice drew both men away from their dreamy thoughts, "If there's ever anything you need. Don't hesitate to let me know."

Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle. "To think… not but a few hours ago, I would have never expected to end up in such a life changing situation." His brown eyes looked wonderingly around the indoors of the craft that was taking them towards their new lives. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect in the near future… or the next 10 or so hours of their flight, but the feeling was stimulating. "…Thank you, Naruto. You already gave me more than I deserved." Glancing towards the pair, Shikamaru sure didn't pass up an opportunity to add a snarky remark, "But do be careful that your big heart doesn't swell Susanoo's big head." He teased, smirking arrogantly when Itachi looked ready to kill him. "What you saw in that man is beyond me, Naruto. Really. "

"Shut your yap, Nara!"

Rolling his eyes at the near start of another squabble, Naruto escaped Itachi's hold and beckoned the two to follow him towards the stairs. "Come. We've got a long way ahead of us. You'll feel so much better once we get all that grime off. I think I'll even manage to get ya a pair of nice new clothes." Snatching… or borrowing clothes would be no sweat; there were so many people on the plane that Naruto would bet he'll manage to get just the right sizes for them all.

…

02:26

"Well if it isn't that annoying little brat! You sure did grow up, you little pipsqueak. Though I can't say the same about your trouble making habits." Naruto grinned happily at his favorite uncle Gamabunta.

"Boss!" he hugged the bulky man, the smell of tobacco still palpable on the man's clothes, just like he remembered.

After refreshing themselves and changing into something more comfortable, Itachi and Shikamaru followed Naruto up to the upper cabins and into the business class. It was filled with people whose appearances slightly different from those of normal citizens or rich folk. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that a part of the passengers were distinguished assassins while the other part belonged to highly ranked criminals, some of who were even famous to the eye.

"Where's your salutatory pet-hat?" asked Naruto jokingly, missing the usual toad that was sitting on his uncle's head.

"Your brother looked in need of a playmate. I couldn't resist the glum look. Did you two get into a fight?" Gamabunta jerked his thumb behind him, where Kyuubi was conversing with Hachibi while playing with an orange skinned toad that was jumping around in his hands.

"Nothing he can't handle. Anyway, while we're speaking about toads, have you seen that sweet _teme_ of mine?"

"I should sue you for calling me names, _dobe_."

Naruto's grin broadened even more when his best friend emerged. "You can try. But I doubt you'll be able to beat my kickass lawyer."

Sasuke arched his fine brow, "Lawyer, huh? Does he, by any chance, go by the name Sasuke Kusanagi?"

"Ah, so you know him?"

"That tall, strong, devilishly handsome and superiorly smart stud of a man? How could I not?"

"You're a helpless narcissist, Sasuke, you know that?"

"Takes one to know one."

Both had a good laugh after that and pulled each other into a friendly hug. Though before Naruto moved, Sasuke tightened his arms around him and hissed almost threateningly in his ear, "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will seriously break your legs."

Naruto gulped, "This bizarre concern you have for me is becoming real scary."

"Good. Then maybe you'll finally heed a warning before running straight into the arms of your enemy." Removing his hands from the blond's back, Sasuke did a double take when he spotted two unfamiliar faces. But it didn't take long to realize who they were. The tagalongs. The taller of the two in particular caught Sasuke's eye the most and his eyes narrowed, puzzled by the thought of why he had a feeling that he'd seen the man before.

For the dark haired man's own safety, Itachi really hoped that the man was Naruto's cousin, relative or brother even… if not, then he better let the blond go; because another wave of deep jealously and wish to break a few bones was threatening to take over Itachi's mind. And he didn't want a repeat of another huge misunderstanding.

"Are those your new friends?"

Naruto grinned in the direction Sasuke was staring. "Aa, sure are. We've been through some rough times together and become pretty close."

Sasuke didn't like how the taller man was glaring at him; even more because he recognized that look. And what made him look that way was pretty obvious. It was apparent that he was showing possessiveness over Naruto. However that raised an interesting question: did that then mean that Naruto was involved in an intimate relationship with another inmate? And how the hell could that have happened? His thoughts suddenly dispersed as Naruto got jerked away from him.

"Naruto-chan~ Is that really you?" a voice full of gentleness and warmth quickly covered the rising tension, forcing Itachi away from his thoughts and Naruto to blush as he was pulled into a tall woman's soft embrace. "Good gracious, child, you're just a miniature figure of Minato, aren't you?" Mei squealed, "The more you grow the more you become like him."

"He has his father's looks, but he's got Pain's temper," commented a gruff voice. "What conclusions can you draw out of those facts?"

"Say one more word Zabuza and I won't hesitate to stab you in the eye." threatened Pain, exiting the conference room with the rest of the mob leaders following.

"Hmph!" While the gruff man grumbled a few threats, his benevolent companion scurried off to greet Pain's blond brat.

"It's so good to see you, Naruto." said Haku as he pulled Naruto into a hug. "How long has it been?"

From the sidelines, Shikamaru and Itachi were left to watch and endure how Naruto went from one hold to another, getting reacquainted. "I'm starting to feel left out," said Shikamaru, though despite the uncomfortable feeling, he couldn't help but smile seeing Naruto so alive when surrounded by his family, friends or whatnot.

Itachi crossed his arms, trying to feel nonchalant about the matter, but he had to agree with Nara. He also felt out of place in the group, not to mention feeling a bit on edge upon seeing so many people touching the blond.

"Yo! B-man has arrived!" Upon entering the room, the cheerfully humming B dropped his heavy hands on the two blocking the entrance. "What's going down you two? Not thinking of escaping again are you?" he laughed.

Shikamaru sighed in exasperation, "Quit joking. I would never wish to go through that again."

Itachi smirked at his frenemy. "Things will surely be different from now on. But do try not to get yourself caught again. Chances of meeting someone like Naruto with a prepared escape plan are close to none."

"Hmph! Same goes for you. Don't be full of yourself and screw Naruto's life. You're now a part of it, after all."

Itachi couldn't take offence in that. As 'nicely' as Shikamaru might have tried to put it, it was true. He would hurt Naruto if he got himself caught, though he would never do anything to endanger Naruto's life and drag him down with him, if something like that ever did happen. And Itachi made sure to reply it to Shikamaru, though not through words but by stepping on Nara's foot. _'I know that!'_

"AGH! You fucker!"

Looking towards the sudden yell, Sasuke again spotted the two escapees he had forgotten about. This time however they were engaged in a rather friendly chat with B. Glancing once more at the smirking man, Sasuke abruptly gasped. Realization finally hit him.

"No way! That was after you dropped like dead and fainted," snarky replied Naruto to whatever conversation he was having with blushing Haku before he was grabbed by a firm hand and dragged to the side.

Not caring if he disturbed something special, Sasuke pulled Naruto further away from earshot.

Itachi's smile fell as he saw the dark haired man take away his blond. Taken over by whatever force, Itachi was about to march over and tell the weird haired bastard to shove it but Naruto's redheaded brother suddenly blocked his way.

"Easy there, _Casanova_." Kyuubi kept Itachi in place. "No need to feel threatened. Sasuke is Naruto's friend."

"What kind of a friend?" looking back at the two men, who par and completed each other in many ways but one, Itachi had to place a lot of restrain to subdue his violent urges and hit the 'nifty' dressed man in the face, just to declare a clear message.

"Naruto, have you any idea who that man is?" Sasuke hissed in whisper as he nodded towards Itachi.

"Of course I…" confidence quickly left Naruto. "I mean… no, not really. I don't."

Shooting Naruto a reprimanded look, Sasuke then elaborated, "I've been there, during the prosecution of his case."

Naruto's smile faltered. "You were?"

"I was a trainee back then, gaining experience. It was during his case that I was taken to a real court." Sasuke cast a sideway look at the dark haired escapee. "He's what you would call a mass murderer. He was sentenced for execution in 2003. However, two days before the deadline, new evidence were brought in. The case went back under prosecution. It dragged on for over half a year. You can say he got off luck; because on January 2004, a new law was written, it forbade the process of execution. Thus Susanoo was sentenced for life in Konoha prison."

Naruto was shocked. Sure he himself was no saint in the field of justice. But Itachi was nearly executed for his crime. Who the hell did he kill to be granted such a harsh sentence? "What did he do?"

Feeling his friend's worry, Sasuke was reluctant to answer, but Naruto needed to know. "Guilty for second degree murder… and…" Naruto looked up when Sasuke paused, "… and for the brutal murder of his family."

Naruto suddenly felt very cold; an emotion ran through him that he could not explain. "Itachi… killed his family?" Unconsciously Naruto looked towards where Itachi stood. Dark hollow eyes stared right back at him.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Thanks to:_ NiChee, baka36411, Manga Ren, none of ur knowledge, TigrezzTail, Kurokage Kitsune, xdevil-childx, lulubeck, LillyTigress, Nemesia23, AkitaIce, Narutopokefan, Kyuubi's Death, itachisgurl93, TheSmartIdiot, Stoic-Genius, ShEiLdEd-WiNgS, Emptybubble, jayjay jin, PurpleSong, The Winggoddess, Guest, AnjoRemix, ShaDow EmpIre & She who quacks alot! ;DD


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter 28**_

* * *

"How many?"

"Men of the mark or members of the family?" Naruto flinched at Sasuke's numb voice, that sounded more judgmental than it should be.

"Family members."

"…Five."

Naruto pressed his lips together, not able to grasp the thought of Itachi killing five of his precious people. …Or _if_ they actually were 'precious'. "Was there a motivation? Any possibility of domestic abuse? Assault?" _'Anything!'_ For Naruto any flaw that could cause a dispute would do. Because he just couldn't believe that Itachi was capable of murdering his own family in cold blood without actual cause.

"None. All members of his family were prosperous people. Never reported or seen on the other side of the law…, except Itachi."

"Huh?"

"Itachi wasn't the most docile of children. At a young age he's already been reported for theft, vandalism, public fights…" Sasuke stopped when it became clear Naruto wasn't listening to him anymore. "Naruto look. He's different. He's nothing like you or your brother. He's dangerous."

Looking up from the ground, Naruto's eyes narrowed in a determined glint. "I need to talk to him." Wheeling around, he darted straight for Itachi.

"Naruto…"

Passing his brother, Naruto grabbed Itachi's wrist and pulled him outside the cabin.

The crowd left behind all looked at the entrance where the blond had stormed off. Pain, Kyuubi and Sasuke were the only ones who kept their emotions void, while the rest looked on in major perplexity. Even Shikamaru was confused, not to mention a bit concerned. _'What the hell did you do now, Susanoo?'_ Sighing to himself with a shake of his head, Shikamaru turned back to the crowd and suddenly became aware of something very disturbing. He was left all alone with a bunch of brutal assassins. _'Oh Naruto, you inconsiderate prick, I hate you so much right now.'_

…

03:12

"Where are we going?" asked Itachi, his voice empty and lacking; that only indicated that he was well aware what this confrontation would bring.

"I know what you did."

"And what would _that_ be?"

Letting Itachi go, Naruto subconsciously figured that he must've led them to the cargo area.

"You're a mass mu-…"

"Mass murderer. Sentenced for life for second degree murder." Itachi's lips thinned and his eyes became stoic. "There's no need to remind me that, Naruto. I'm aware."

Naruto turned to him with his full body. "That's not what I was getting to. I…"

"I know what your friend told you about me." Itachi said suddenly. He was well gifted when it came to lip reading. "However you're wrong. You don't know what I did. You only _heard_ what I did from another person's perspective."

"So… then are you gonna tell me what is it that you did exactly?" Naruto frowned when he couldn't seem to get a decent reaction out of that shell Itachi had hid his emotions in. "Who did you kill to be sentenced to death? And… why would you kill… kill your own family?" A slight flinch in Itachi's left eye was not missed. "It's true, isn't it? You murdered them."

Deep fury emerged from Itachi's eyes. It made Naruto want to step back, but somehow he didn't think it was he Itachi was staring at… it was memory. "Aa, I killed them."

Naruto sucked in a deep breath. "Why?"

"Because."

After nothing else was said, Naruto was starting to get impatient and angry. "Itachi, you need to tell me."

"No."

"TELL ME!" Naruto yelled.

Itachi blinked. "Why such sudden curiosity? Why do you need to know? Are you getting scared of me?"

Naruto stiffened at that. He actually wondered if he was, because he rarely let himself burst in such rash anger. …Yes, he was scared, but not of Itachi but of the truth. He was scared to lose someone like Itachi. Even if the man turned out to be a murderer, that still couldn't stop Naruto from… from…. Naruto lowered his eyes, as the sudden awareness of that deep care he felt for the man finally caught up with his realization. Yes, he had fallen for Itachi… and fallen deep. "I'm not scared of you." Naruto answered calmly, "I just want to know the truth."

Red shaded eyes bore into Naruto's intensively and searchingly, as if measuring his very virtue and trust. Finally Itachi calmed down and his shoulders relaxed; something Naruto noticed immediately; making him wonder why was Itachi trying to guard himself in the first place?

"I would never hurt you, Naruto… You do know that, don't you?"

Naruto didn't say anything, but he did approach the man close enough and took his hands in his. Sometimes his actions just spoke lauder than words. "Please. Just tell me what happened."

It felt like eternity until Itachi started speaking again. "This might take a while, but hear me through."

Naruto waited patiently for Itachi to gather up his thoughts.

"I grew differently from the people I was taught to call my… _family_." The mention of a word _family_ alone made Naruto feel the bitter bearing Itachi felt towards his relatives. It made him just as sad as curious – whatever could have went so wrong between Itachi and his family for him to hate them so?

"Socially, they were rich, influential people. They ruled business industries, were the main holders of stocks, bonds and funds. As it was, it however didn't mean they're lives were easy in comparison. …There were many enemies who craved for their wealth or simply wanted them dead. But such influential people could not have been taken down without sequent consequence; not unless there was a downside amongst their perfection. …_I_ was that downside.

"Not many know this, but the only ties that bound me to my so called family was my father." Itachi looked away from Naruto's startled expression; finding the surrounding cars as a sufficient distraction from the rising anger that was starting to push itself upon him. "I was born as a bastard child. Outside marriage and through adultery. My mother was the lover of my father, who was married and had a family of his own. The moment he found out of my unborn existence he left my mother to fend for herself. In spite of her poor financial position, she gave birth to me. Father didn't even look back on it…

"Living was very difficult for us. Through hard times she became very sick… and for me, it became only a matter of time until I was left alone." Looking back on the past, Itachi paused before he continued. "It was just before my mother's death that I was told of my father and got pushed into his care. Perhaps out of duty, grief or pity, but he accepted me to his family. I would not lie, he did make my life easier and I should have been thankful to him for that… However, all I felt was betrayal and anger. I was bitter.

"He never cared for my welfare before… Of course, not until someone spread the rumor of him abandoning his own son in need. He didn't want his name dirtied. So to perish that rumor he took me." Itachi smirked coldly, amusement being the farthest thing from what he felt at that moment. "I was thirteen years old when he finally took me to his home. …For thirteen years I was a needles insignificance he didn't even want to know of. By then I had already become a street rat. I had joined ill gangs and was seen around wrong people more than once. I wasn't planning on changing. And it didn't take long for the press to find out and go wild.

"At first, it was never about crime, I did what I had to to survive. I fought, I stole and I was punished for it. But later, when my father took me in, I started doing that out of hatred. I wanted to show _him_ what he had forced me to become.

"When he found out of my wrongdoings he put a stop to it. And for a time it was peaceful. I was finally at peace. It took time, but eventually I calmed down. I didn't have to fight anymore." Itachi took in a small breath, his voice becoming mordant and hoarse. "At least… not until the next phase. That's when _they_ showed up."

Naruto urged him to continue, "Who?"

"Rivals." clarified Itachi. "The majority of my father's competitors were people of quality and law, not to mention his close friends. In short, they were people who could easily influence others and hide their traits simply under their names alone. They found out about me, my past and my connection to my father and tried to use it to their advantage in bringing my father down."

"They tried to blackmail you?"

Itachi shook his head, "I don't think there could be an ink darker than what had already been printed on paper about my life. No. They threatened to kill my family, if I didn't do as they wished."

"All that to get your father out of business?"

"In order to eliminate the competition." said Itachi, "…But I told them I could care less what they did. Those people weren't _my_ family."

Naruto's eyes widened at Itachi's cold and blunt words. Itachi answered to that with a simple shrug, "They wanted to daunt me, Naruto, and make me act recklessly. My reply was simply something they did not count for and that threw them off."

Naruto was confused. "So you used a reverse psychology on them or something? You didn't mean what you said-…"

"Iie." Itachi quickly cut him off. "I spoke the truth." His hands tightened around Naruto's. "I hated my new family. Their lives meant nothing to me."

"But Ita-…"

"_However_… I did care about them enough to tell them of this little confrontation I had."

Naruto blinked, feeling completely at a loss. So did he or did he not care about his family?

Itachi smiled sadly as a memory of him and his father flashed in front of his eyes, "Perhaps that was the first time I ever felt true parental affection from my father. I was even ready to forgive him… But in the end, I was too late." Itachi's eyes clouded again. _'We were both too late.'_

"I came home around nightfall. They already waited for me inside the house. I can still remember them all – my father's enemies, business partners and friends… they were all there." Itachi licked his dry lips, feeling it become harder to speak as he went. "I was dragged to where my father was. Voices were faint around, but I could still hear cries in the other rooms. I vaguely remember a dead body in front of my father's feet… Only later did I recognize it as my older stepbrother. He's been killed in front of my father's eyes and I was next… or so I thought."

Naruto bit his lip, feeling Itachi's silent sorrow as the man's grip tightened even more around his hands. Itachi said that he did not love his family, but he was a blunt liar in that perspective.

"My head was spinning, I could barely see what was happening around me. I remember hearing someone screaming my name before I felt a pain in my arm and a terrible ache at the back of my head. Only after a drug was pushed into me did I become aware. My body became unresponsive, I couldn't move but I could hear and see everything. They made me watch how my father's own friend beat him till he bled. I heard screams as my stepmother was taken into the room, screams of her children and painful cries of my father." Itachi looked away, his eyes glassy but emotionless. "After…, they placed a gun in my hand and guided my hold. They aimed the gun at my stepsiblings first and forced me to fire."

Naruto averted his eyes, hiding in vain from an image that has formed into his head.

"Next was my stepmother. And after… my father. I wasn't able to stop the shot." The two sank into a deep silence, not saying and not urging the other to anything for quite a while.

Breathing in deeply, Itachi calmed his scattered emotions and said, "It's true. I killed my family."

Naruto shook his head vigorously, "You didn't… It wasn't you!"

Itachi sighed, running his hand gently through Naruto's hair. Naruto wanted to cry, it wasn't him who needed to be soothed. "I might not have murdered them but I did kill them. I placed their lives on the line. If it wasn't for me and my arrogance, those people wouldn't have been forced to go this far. I threatened their status and lives when I told everything to my father. He was ready to report them, but he didn't make it in time. They found out and took him down before he could do the same to them."

Itachi looked down on their joined hands, his mind flowing through with many different thoughts and memories. Naruto was in remorse, he didn't say anything, but tried to let the man know that he was here and was not going to leave. They stayed in comforting closeness for what felt like hours on end, unaware of a presence not too far from hearing distance.

"They didn't leave me in the house." Itachi went on. "They took me to a car and drove me off a cliff." Naruto looked up startled. "Aa, they tried to kill me. Hoping to place an entire blame on a psychotic teenager, who murdered his family and then ended his life by suicide.

"It was by sheer luck that I survived the crash. I hid myself for quite some time. However, when I returned home, I found out that I had already been labeled as a prime suspect of my family's murder, as well as a wanted man." Itachi leant his back against somebody's car, his eyes staring at the cold iron ceiling of the plane. "I couldn't let it end like this."

Naruto momentarily understood; there wasn't any need for Itachi to explain what happened further. "I returned back to the streets, to my past life. I looked up people I trusted and gathered a group. It was no longer about survival, I had only one goal in my mind and that was an instinctive will to commit a murder.

"I murdered every last person who came to my house that night. I avenged the death of my family, but had little to no proof that could go on my behalf. Soon after I was captured and sentenced to death for the murder of thirteen people as well as the slaughter of my own family. The rest you already know."

Itachi breathed lightly as he finished reminiscing. It was never easy to recall such horrible scenes, especially after years of building a solid peace in mind to block them away. "Whether you believe that I told you the truth or not is entirely up to you."

Naruto stayed silent after Itachi finished. He never imagined that such a person as Itachi was carrying such a huge, cross burden. It was impossible to grasp what the man had to go through at such a young age. It was just twisted and unfair. "You're not a bad person, Itachi." was what Naruto whispered to him. "Not at all."

Near the entrance, leaning against a post and listening silently was Kyuubi. He had heard Itachi's life story from the start. Despite it being sad and sorrowful, he felt relieved. So it wasn't a lost cause, he could trust Susanoo with his brother after all. Just as silently as he came, he left.

…

12:03

Coming down the stairwell, Shikamaru looked around the cargo area. Nothing but cars met his searching eyes. With a tired groan he turned to his hip companion, "They're not here."

"Open yer dull eyes and peer between the lines. There! I see them sleepin'," Hachibi smirked slyly once his eyes caught the two missing escapees leaning against Pain's car. "Right next to _Aston Martin._"

That's where Shikamaru finally spotted them too. Both asleep and in each other's embrace. "Troublesome pair," with a grunt, Shikamaru headed towards them. "Oi! Get up you two! We're landing soon."

B pushed the switches on, lighting the entire area. Naruto blinked and momentarily covered his eyes from the burning bright lights. "Were we sleeping?"

Itachi stretched his sore muscles, sighing in content when his bones finally popped back to the right places. No, falling asleep on the floor was a really bad idea.

"You tell me." teasingly taunted Shikamaru, absorbing their suggestive position. "Did I miss anything entertaining?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and gave Itachi a kiss on the cheek. Now fully awake, and granted with the opportunity, Itachi pulled Naruto back to initiate a lip-lock kiss.

"Oi OI! Don't even think about it! Not in front of me you don't!"

Receiving no chance to go beyond the deep kiss, Itachi suddenly found himself being pulled away from Naruto and thrown aside. _'What just happened?'_

"Stop being an ass, Kyuubi!"

Itachi sighed. Ah… of course, it was the protective brother, who, apparently, aside an uncontrollable character and a bad sense of timing, possess a brutal strength as well.

Kyuubi huffed. The little brat should know by now; it was purely instinctive for him to protect his brother from all those bloody vultures. "Well if you're going to get _frisky_ with your boyfriend, you should have the decency to force the lock and do it in Pain's car. _Away_ from the _eyes_."

"KYUUBI!" Naruto screeched at him in total embarrassment.

"I'll pretend that I did not just hear you say that, Kyuubi."

Itachi and Shikamaru both stiffened, while Naruto and Kyuubi went red and white in the face. B however was joyfully laughing his ass off as Pain appeared.

"So these are your new friends, huh, Naruto?" asked Pain, coming to stand in front of Itachi and Shikamaru.

Naruto hurried over to stand between them. "Hai. Itachi, Shikamaru, this is my dad."

Both nodded their heads in a short greeting. "Sir."

Pain cocked an eyebrow. "Peculiar." he smirked, giving Naruto a bad vibe. "It's _rare_ to see someone trying to show me such respect out-front. Unless they're hoping to stay on my good side."

Naruto was ready to whine, "Dad, stop taunting them."

"I'm not taunting them. Simply measuring their endurance."

"DAAAD!"

"These boys are A-OKAY! Checked myself." B patted Shikamaru and Itachi's shoulders encouragingly, "They even helped Naruto through his worse times."

Pain narrowed his eyes, doubt and distrust written all over his face, "And how would you know what they did to my son while in prison?"

B rubbed his neck in thought. "Well…"

"Oh come on!" Naruto threw his hands up, "Are you actually going to do this now? You liar! You promised me you would leave them alo-…"

Clapping his hand over Naruto's mouth, Pain held the struggling boy still. "Aa. I recall something of the sort." Sure, he promised a lot of things, but stood strong to his promises almost never. "However, there's such a thing as providence."

Shikamaru and Itachi exchanged looks. It was bad enough that they had to confront Naruto's father, but worse was the fact that it had to happen right now, with them standing very close to the plane's hatch. And suddenly, Naruto's previous joke of them getting thrown out of the plane became that much more realistic.

"Don't worry. There's only one question I intend to ask you two." assured Pain, calming Naruto and the others down. However, once the question was spoken, the escapees would've preferred ten other challenges to that one. "How did you persuade my son to let you join in his escape?"

Itachi and Shikamaru became a bit nervous. Actually, the way that went down would probably be enough to earn them a free ticket outside this plane without a parachute.

Not letting the silence linger, Itachi spoke first. "Your son and I didn't start off on positive terms. Frankly speaking, Naruto didn't even like me at the beginning. However, our roundabout did earn its benefit in the end. Naruto owed me a favor." Consequently, Itachi freely let Pain know that he practically forced his son to include him in his escape, but skipped out on actual details of his true motivation, the man would probably regard it as a pitiful lie anyway.

Shikamaru was reluctant to lay out his own answer. Thought he, on the other hand, did not miss out on details, just so he could see Itachi's reaction and rising anger. But that did earn him a promised talk with Kyuubi, who was silently cracking his knuckles. "… Sooner or later it was bound to happen. Naruto was my cellmate. And he wasn't particularly silent either." Naruto glared at the double meaning of that sentence.

Tapping his fingers against Naruto's shoulder, Pain appeared to be considering things over; however in truth, he had already decided to let Naruto deal with his friends as he pleased. After all, he was only there to condemn those two new faces to his memory, so he would remember who to shoot in case something went wrong with his son. Closing his eyes, he smiled. "It takes guts for a man to tell such dirtied truth. Though desperation might sometimes become a key in need. …Especially when a man's life is on the line." Ruffling Naruto's hair, Pain turned his back to them and started heading back to the stairs. "Come. We're descending soon."

Kyuubi's mouth agape as he stared after his departing father. "Wait! That's it?"

Naruto was over the top. Pain actually gave him this chance to deal with the matter on his own. He hugged Shikamaru and pulled Itachi for a quick kiss.

B smacked surprised Kyuubi on the back, "Yer old man sure has changed, ne? Or should I say – grown up? Earlier he'd simply shoot a man in the leg if he as much as looked at him wrongly."

The redhead huffed, not at all pleased that Itachi and Shikamaru got off the hook so easily. "What the hell is he thinking? The least he could do was break their noses, like he did with all those other suitors."

B hummed. "_I'd say_ that he's finally starting to trust you two to fend for yourselves."

…

14:00

A lot of hugs were exchanged at that hour as Naruto and the rest said one final goodbye to their acquaintances and friends. The gangs were wishing each other luck on the way, the best for the future or simply shouted a snarky comment before they skedaddled. The leaders, however, exchanged their byes a bit differently.

"You always know how to rip-off a man from his last socks, Pain. The flight wasn't even that conformable for you to charge me with such a sum. Furthermore, you were a lousy host." grumbled Hanzou, receiving strong support from Ay and Zabuza alike.

"Watch it, Salamander. Don't force me to hack your account for the fourth time, just because you don't know how to stand on your own two feet through measly bumps." said Pain with a nonchalant frown. "A deal's a deal."

"Ravenous bitch," Hanzou turned his glare away with a huff.

"Aww come now, Pain. Surely you can't be _that_ evil. Didn't your boys ever teach you about such a thing as benevolence?" Mei chirped in a persuasive tone. "Surely having such sweet angels running around your life must have softened that steel of a heart you have."

Pain's eye visibly twitched. "Angels? Kyuubi and Naruto? …Ah …Sure, they taught me a lot." Losing that wicked smirk, Pain scowled. "Especially, how to persuade someone into getting what they want! Now. If you don't pay up within the next two weeks, I'm going to trash your lives."

Zabuza grit his teeth. "You twisted son of a bastard! You and your sons are a pain! I hope I won't see you again for the rest of my life!"

Kyuubi chuckled as he watched Pain deal with the rowdy leaders, while those same leaders looked just a pinch away from starting another war with him. "Surely this whole issue can't be good for you, old man. No matter how much you get a kick out of it."

Two equal weights suddenly dropped down on either side of him. Kyuubi wasn't that surprised to see his two cousins sitting next to him on the boarding stairs.

"What's up?" grinned Ginkaku.

"Haven't got a chance to talk now did we?" said Kinkaku.

"Not since two years ago." nodded Kyuubi.

"Aa. Though I can't help but ask first. What's going down with our cheery blond?" asked Ginkaku. "I hear he got himself a fine keeper."

Kyuubi arched his brow, "Who the hell told you that?"

The two brothers burst with a loud laugh, "Geez man. Everyone knows by now."

"After all, you should never fall asleep in the arms of another man. Especially while staying all alone in a dark room."

Kyuubi groaned. '_Of course…_' he could name a number of people who could have walked in on Naruto and Itachi while they were in the cargo area – starting from Shukaku (who probably was the one to babble everything out from the beginning) and ending with the last plane navigator. "A twaddler nest is what you all are!"

"You forget. There's no such thing as privacy when it's between all of us." remarked Ginkaku.

"I for one feel content… maybe." said Kinkaku, his eyes watching a certain blond in the mix of other people. "The little nitwit has finally fallen in love~" he singsong, "Now ain't that _sweeeet_?"

Kyuubi smirked, "Over my dead body. And who said it is _love_?"

…

"Stop spacing out, you glum bastard. It's not like I'm dying or anything."

"No, that'd be too good to be true."

"Shut up! You know you'll miss me!"

"Hn," Saskue just stuck his nose away, hiding that small smile that came out at his friend's short tempered blowups.

Not able to catch the expression on Sasuke's face from his perch on the car's hood they were sitting on, Naruto pushed his best friend with his shoulder. "Oi. You know that this isn't the last time I'll be seeing you, right?"

"Perhaps not, but it'll be the last until a few years will pass."

"Aww… you're so sw-…"

"And I'll be enjoying every second of it."

"You're such a bastard!"

The dark-haired male chuckled and finally turned to his friend with a content look. "I'm not going to ask for your number, because I know you have mine." It was already a common knowledge to them all, that no one is to know the number of the Namikaze twins or Pain. And the only chance of contacting them is whether through the gang or if they decide to call you themselves.

Naruto's ambivalency returned back to the soft side. He knew Sasuke would want to know his phone number or location, but for now, it was just too dangerous to reveal. "Sasukeee… stop making me feel like an ass."

"It can't be helped. But I guess there's also a bright side. That means I won't have to spend money on calling you."

Naruto's grin turned upside-down, "Oh yeah!? Well then, I'll just make sure you pay for all my received calls, you cheap bastard of a best friend!"

"That'll surely save me time to avoid a nasty surprise."

"SASUKEEE!"

Laughing in his sleeve, Sasuke suddenly got distracted by Susanoo Itachi, whom he saw having a small one-on-one conversation with Nara Shikamaru. "Naruto. Are you sure he's the one for you?"

Naruto also looked at Itachi and smiled, "You know that I can't ever be sure on everything. But I can't help but feel that he and I will be alright together."

Giving up on trying to persuade him, Sasuke knew that the only thing left now was to open his arms. Naruto grinned at the gesture and hugged Sasuke with all his might. "I'll miss you, _teme_."

"Same. Be safe, _dobe_." with a final kiss to Naruto's temple, Sasuke got into his car and drove off.

As soon as the speeding car disappeared down the horizon and the rest of the gangs dispersed, Naruto returned to his two escapees.

"Did he _have_ to kiss you?" irritated asked Itachi after Naruto was finally done on saying his goodbyes and exchanging wet kisses left and right.

Naruto elbowed him. "Stop being so jealous. And he didn't _kiss_ kiss me."

Shikamaru agreed, "He's right, Susanoo. A kiss goes on the lips. Like this." Before it occurred to Itachi what Shikamaru was trying to imply, he saw his blond being dipped over and Shikamaru kissing him fully on the lips.

"Nara!"

Quickly pushing Naruto into advancing Itachi's claws, Shikamaru sprang back. "Temper temper lover boy. Don't cause trouble on public airport."

"No one will miss you."

'_Good grief.'_ rolling his eyes at the two, Naruto pulled out a neatly wrapped wallet from his pocket and handed it to Shikamaru. "Here. This is for you."

Perplexed, the brunt reluctantly took the offered item and opened it. His eyes widened at a handful of dollar bills it contained. The leather parcel nearly slipped from his hands from the shock. "The hell, Naruto, I can't accept this!"

Naruto crossed his arms, denying the return of the given gift. "And how do you suppose you're going to travel to Canada without any cash? Swim for it?"

Shikamaru lost count at a thousand. "Where did you get this much money?"

"My earnings." the blond replied. "Though I do expect for you to return it."

Shikamaru looked at Naruto's genuine smile and caught the double meaning behind those words. It wasn't as much about returning the money as it was about them meeting each other again, and hopefully, real soon. "Then don't take too long to call me." Shikamaru handed Naruto a piece of paper with a number on it. "It's Ino's."

Naruto nodded and pulled Shikamaru into a strong hold. "Good luck, Shika. Say hi to your kid from me." Though before the two could exchange a touching kiss, Itachi's voice boomed, "Don't. Even!"

The two ex-cellmates burst laughing and settled for another man-hug.

Turning then to Itachi, Shikamaru offered his hand. With an intense stare, the two gave the other a firm shake and one final smirk.

"Stay out of trouble."

"You know I won't."

…

16:03

Kyuubi woke up from his drowsiness with a startled snore. His head falling from the hand he was leaning on. They should have had departed an hour ago, if not for the waited arrival of their retarded guest, who was late as hell. "What the fuck is taking so long?!"

"Surely important matters came at an inconvenience." guessed Hachibi. "We can give him a few more minutes."

"Fuck this! We should just dump him and leave already!" standing up, Kyuubi marched up the boarding stairs.

"I bet Ero-sennin is just having another one of his inspiring moments in the 'bath-club'." Naruto mumbled sleepily, halfway leaning against the yawning Itachi.

"Who's that now?" curious asked Itachi.

"My uncle."

Just when Kyuubi opened his mouth to declare their departure, a car honked, parking in the confined zone. A flashy man in hazel crocodile shoes, white pants, red shirt and white jacket stepped out of the driver's seat and flipped his glorious spiky white mane. "Greetings squirts! Master has arrived! Ah Yeah! I'm in spotlight! Hahahahaha… Now prepare to be blown by my glorious-…"

"Shut the fuck up, you ero-freak! What the hell took you so long?!" yelled Kyuubi over the entire airport.

A tick marked quickly appeared on Jiraiya's forehead, "It's a fashionable thing to be late, you brat! Stop ruining my groove!"

"Your groove is just as nonsensical as your books – old, cheesy and illegal!"

"AH! How dare you insult such fine artistic sanctity?! My books are the pride of all male species! The very balance of life lies in the pages of my awesome novels!"

"Don't confuse the balance of life with the demise of humanity!"

"Why you little…-GHAA!"

"You're seriously starting to make me regret this union, Jiraiya." Soft, feminine, yet powerful voice reached through Jiraiya's spinning head. Or rather it was that hard punch that reached him…

Seeing that none of the two idiots were planning on ending this verbal exchange anytime soon, the woman decided to end the misery her own way – by punch Jiraiya on the head.

Opening his eyes, Jiraiya's 'kicked-puppy' gaze travelled from high heeled shoes, up to a white dress hugging a perfect body and (after lingering a little just below the collarbone) up to the woman's divine features. "But honey… I…"

Crossing her arms over her fine chest, the female's amber eyes flashed in stern warning, quickly causing Jiraiya to shut up. "Honestly, you're behavior is worse than that of a child."

"I'm innocent I tell you!"

The woman rolled her eyes with a tiresome sigh. "Dear god. What the hell was I thinking when I said yes?"

Coming to, Jiraiya blinded her with his flashy grin, "You were thinking: 'about damn time _you stud of a hulk_'."

Huffing, the woman passed him with a sly smirk on her red lips. The diamond shaped crystal on her forehead glittered against the setting sun behind the Boeing's tail. "Try: 'you're sleeping in the shed for the next week'."

Jiraiya's eyes shot wide, "NO! You can't!"

Sending Jiraiya a clear look that clearly said 'just try me', Tsunade proceeded with the first priority of her business here – that being Naruto. "Come here, brat! Let me take a look at you."

Naruto sprang from his seat and ran into the woman's warm embrace. His fingers feeling the soft texture of her long blond hair falling freely over her back. "Obaa-chan!"

Tsunade groaned in annoyance at the name, but decided not to comment on it right now as she was more than willing to return the embrace.

"Why don't you ever greet _me_ like that, woman?"

Ignoring Jiraiya's complains in the background, she reprovingly pinched Naruto's cheeks. "You made me worried sick, you stupid boy."

"Ow! Grandmaaa!"

"What were you thinking getting yourself caught and imprisoned? I should seriously smack you right here and now." While stating her threats, Tsunade's sharp eyes quickly looked over Naruto's entire body, making sure her troublemaking nephew was fine and well.

Despite the inflicted pain by the devilish woman, Naruto couldn't stop himself from smiling in joy. Yep, that was his lovable aunt, who always showed her concern for him through anger while at the same time hugged the death out of him. That woman had always been one of the most important people in his life, right after Pain and Kyuubi. An antipode of law, a great healer, strong willed, smart, hard-shelled woman with a strength that made men shake.

Breaking her line of concentration, that stopped fixed on his shoulder, Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "Come. I want you to meet s-…" Feeling something rough on her finger, Naruto suddenly stopped, "Wait a minute!" Quickly he pulled her hand closer to his eyes and gaped at a glittering diamond ring on her ring-finger. "Oh god! You're _married_?!"

Tsunade's smile only guided Naruto to ask more. "But how? When? To whom?"

Jiraiya placed his hand around Tsunade's shoulders and flashed Naruto another one of his large grins. "Have a wild guess, kiddo."

Naruto's eyes widened even more when he saw a ring on Jiraiya's left hand as well. "You… you're married to _Jiraiya_?"

"Oi! What's with that face? What the hell is so wrong with marrying one of the greatest men on earth?" Another vein popped on Jiraiya's forehead. "If anything, you should have long since seen this coming!"

Tsunade looked at the ring with a genuine smile, a rosy hue appearing to her cheeks. _'How could I not. Who else can make sure to keep this idiot out of trouble?'_

"Oh Baa-chan, I'm so sorry…"

"WHAT THE HELL IS _THAT_ SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?" Jiraiya yelled in outrage. "Damnit! WHERE'S PAIN!? I HAVE A WORD OR TWO TO SAY TO HIM ABOUT THIS DEVIL UPBRINGING!"

After her pouting husband fled in search of Pain, Tsunade turned back to the matter at hand. "Let's leave the story telling for the nighttime. More importantly, who made such a sloppy job on treating your injured shoulder?" she asked, pulling his shirt to look at the bandages.

Hearing that, Kyuubi snapped his mouth close and crossed his arms with an offended 'hmph'.

Naruto blinked, he had already forgotten about his injury. But that wonder how Tsunade managed to figure out that he was injured still astounded him, even more because his injury was covered behind a shirt (which, by the way, he should probably return back to Sasuke someday, as it belonged to him).

"Never mind that," shaking his head, Naruto steered her back towards Itachi. "Come and let me introduce you to my friend."

Tsunade blinked as Naruto brought her over to a no-name man, whom she never saw and knew nothing about. The young man was tall, dark and looked rather sinister to her. But once she saw Naruto take him by the hand, all that ice melted away. As if just by being next to Naruto had brought the man his light back. She cocked her eyebrow in serene curiosity, "Who might this be?"

"Susanoo Itachi, ma'am." Itachi introduced himself.

His surname made Tsunade sink in thought, _'Susanoo?'_ memories flashed before her eyes until they stopped before a bold title of an old newspaper – _Slaughter of the Susanoo family_._ 'He's the one who…'_ "You're that boy," she said suddenly. "A murderer…"

The lack of benevolence in her voice made Naruto tense. Her rage was manifesting into something bad. "Baa-chan! No!" jumping quickly between them, Naruto nearly knocked her off her feet as he enclasped her tightly to prevent her killer fists from flying at Itachi. "Don't kill him! It's not what you think! He's innocent!"

"Naruto, you little fool! Don't you think I know that?!" Tsunade snapped at the blond, pushing him away.

Her abrupt words froze Naruto on the spot, making him blink repeatedly. "You… what?"

"We're well aware of his history, Naruto."

"Y-you are? How? And who's _we_?"

"Pain, Jiraiya and I." Tsunade snorted at Naruto's dumbfounded expression. "Did you honestly think we'd _let_ you bring inmates from that prison without gathering all the data first?"

"You mean to say, that you knew _everything_ about Itachi, Shikamaru and Madara before we even escaped? And _Dad _knew as well?!"

"You honestly need to get a clue, brat. Did you not think he'd make a thorough search on your friends' history till the very last detail?"

"I…" Naruto paled. "But why didn't he tell me sooner?"

"He was curious. I believe he wanted you to find everything out on your own. He has confidence in you after all." _'And for good reason too.'_

"So… you know about Itachi then, right?" Naruto fiddled with his words weakly, "I mean, everything?"

Tsunade fixed her gaze on the black-haired man. "Yes. I know what happened. And I'm sorry, Itachi."

Itachi's gaze lowered, the annoying pain of guilt squeezing his heart harshly. _'I'm sorry too.'_

"I may not be the one to console, but I can see where you're coming from. Pain's childhood hasn't been flourished as well." said Tsunade. "At least…" looking to the side, she saw Kyuubi and Naruto, "…not until the appearance of something special in his life." Tsunade smiled then at the man as she saw Naruto take Itachi by the hand again, their exchange of warmth and compassion in gesture and eyes speaking loudly for the both of them. "And I think there's no need to say, that you have just received a part of that same gift that he did."

Itachi was startled by her words. Was she actually implying what he thought she was? "Ma'am?"

"I do not know you well, but Naruto seems to know enough to place his trust in you. And it is fine with me. I entrust you to take good care of my nephew, Susanoo Itachi."

Itachi did not know what to say. He just received the second approval from one of the most important people of Naruto's life. Not to mention a whole new set of string of threats of what's going to happen to him if he doesn't treat Naruto right.

"Tsunade-hime. You're being awfully rude, siding with Naruto's new boyfriend without consulting the rest of us." Gamabunta, the ever witty man stared down at them from the entry door, a pipe in his hand. "Now then. Are you going to board soon or should I just inform your husband that you finally decided to run away from him?"

Tsunade's eyes flashed menacingly. "Careful Bunta, don't force me to throw your dear pet in a soup."

"Dear god, Bunta! Don't let her near the kitchen! We still have 24 hours left to fly." Jiraiya screamed somewhere behind the bulky man. Tsunade's teasing smile snapped in half and she stormed the rest of the way into the plane to find Jiraiya and hit him.

Naruto chuckled as he soon heard a familiar yelp. "Don't worry. They seem crazy but you quickly grow to love them." he squeezed Itachi's hand to reassure the man that it wasn't as bad as it might look.

'_Nothing really matters as long as you're here.'_ Itachi kissed the back of Naruto's hand before they boarded the plane, finally set towards their freedom and new lives.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Ending is really close by now. Not sure yet, but I guess it'll take 2 more chapters before I finish this story. Thank you all for sticking with me this far! ;))_

_& a big thanks to:_ NiChee, baka36411, brokenfromthepast, TigrezzTail, jayjay jin, Kuruizaki-hime, lulubeck, xdevil-childx, Manga Ren, Kyuubi's Death, yaoilovelove, LillyTigress, Emiko. Senju. Uchiha. Namikaze, P. Nutte, The Winggoddess, Narutopokefan, guests, Kurokage Kitsune, JackFrost25, krazylittlekat, Izzy848, the-darker-side-of-things & Conflicted Soul! XD


	30. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 29**_

* * *

01:08

Itachi gasped in half pleasure and half pain as Naruto's nails dug themselves deeper into his back. It was no longer possible to say how many times they had done it since their first time of having sex and he still couldn't get enough of the pleasure he was receiving from the smaller male.

Naruto's back arched, his nerves feeling the pleasure and that ecstatic feeling Itachi was giving him by each deep thrust. "Damn i'… I can't…"

Itachi sank his teeth in the blond's neck and fisted Naruto's cock, forbidding Naruto the much wanted release and forcing a scream from his mouth, which quickly died into a silent gasp. "Ita-… Itachi… mou… please…" _'Damn it! Let me cum!'_

"No." Itachi smirked and licked the delicious tanned skin of the blond's neck. He knew what Naruto was trying to say; and feeling a bit playful slowed the fast rhythm of his thrusts into a deep slow pace. _'Not yet.'_

"Fuck! Ah! Itaaa-ch… I'll kill… yahh!"

"You don't mean that." Itachi bent down and kissed Naruto's moaning mouth.

Naruto vigorously deepened the kiss. He grabbed Itachi by the shoulders and forcefully rolled them both over.

Itachi blinked as he was suddenly forced into the soft sheets of their bed. Naruto groaned in pleasure as he came on top of Itachi. He was feeling Itachi's cock reaching even deeper into him.

"Aren't you a devious one." smirked Itachi, getting quite aroused by Naruto's sudden display of animalistic power. His hands glided up Naruto's smooth thighs and took a strong grip around his hips. He forced Naruto closer and at the same time even deeper.

Naruto grinned at him slyly. His lust clouded eyes and sweat glittering disheveled hair made a picture Itachi wished he could take. "I was never one to submit easily." Placing his hands on Itachi's abs, Naruto moved his hips.

"That I already know." Itachi hissed as their pace started anew. They went from temptingly slow and lovable, to cunningly playful and teasing, till wildly overwhelming.

Itachi groaned and threw his head back as he felt Naruto squeeze him tight, swallowing him whole in. He could feel every fiber of Naruto's body trembling as he rode him with spirited vigor. The blond was nearing his climax. Sitting up, Itachi grabbed the back of Naruto's hair and captured his lips with his own. The grip on Naruto's hips stopped their energetic movements only for a friction of second before Naruto found himself being tipped over and Itachi ramming into him hard and fast.

Naruto slid his hands into Itachi's loose dark hair and hooked his leg around Itachi's waist, helping him meet each thrust with a rise of his hips.

Breaking their kiss, Itachi looked into those hazed blue eyes and smiled. "Mine," he said before giving one precise jab that sent Naruto over the edge. Naruto screamed as he reached his climax. Those ruthlessly tight walls and that erotic expression sent Itachi into his own climax. He slammed into Naruto deeply and came.

Naruto moaned at the feel of Itachi's essence filling him. Ridding out his orgasm, Itachi finally calmed himself and embraced his loved one tightly.

Both shared a moment of small kisses here and there before finally settling their tired bodies down to sleep.

…

04:54

Blinking the dreams and sleep away from his eyes, Naruto slowly felt himself come to. It was still dark outside, but a small portion of light could be visible down the horizon outside his window. Opening his eyes fully, Naruto stared at the appearing sun light that had yet to escape his eyes before its rise. His focus was interrupted once he registered that ticklish feel against his neck and hands slightly tightening their hold around his waist as he moved. Turning around, Naruto smiled as he came face to face with Itachi. The man was in deep sleep, his features relaxed and so calm… Naruto wondered if he could make a selfish wish and ask to always wake up to such a sight. Tenderly, he reached for Itachi's cheek and ran his fingertips against that flawless pale skin.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Naruto jumped slightly. His lips pouting at Itachi's smiling ones. "Isn't it too early to be waking up?"

"It's something I couldn't help myself."

Itachi opened his eyes, "You've been doing this quite often since we got settled in. Is there something bothering your rest?"

Naruto smiled, which in Itachi's eyes looked rather sad, and then turned back to his side.

Worried by this silence, Itachi sat up and pulled the blond closer to himself. "Naruto?"

"It's the sunrise." whispered Naruto, "It's just… whenever I wake up, I can't help but wish to savor as much as I can of it. I guess it's just another thing I kind a missed while I was in jail. It's not that I'm scared… I just, I don't want to make myself think that I might wake up and not see it."

Itachi turned Naruto to face him. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise." He kissed Naruto lovingly on the cheek and then lips. _'I'm not letting you go.'_

Naruto embraced Itachi tightly. _'Thank you for staying with me.'_

…

14:08

About two months have passed since their escape; and Itachi and Naruto didn't waste time enjoying every precious second of that freedom. It took a while, but soon enough they had found a nice, warm, peaceful place to settle in; right on a small island called Guernsey.

"Feeling alright?" Naruto shot Itachi a scolding glare. The smirking 'weasel' of a man knew damn well that he wasn't. After the night of hard sex and another few rounds in the morning it was proven very difficult to walk in a straight line without looking like a limping fool.

"You know, I could always carry yo-…"

"One more word and I will lock you out of our bedroom for the rest of the month." Itachi chuckled but shut up he did.

Upon arriving to their new home, both had taken consistent decisions as an active couple – starting from arranging the furniture and ending with what kind of dinner to have. Considering their hectic previous lives, it was a nice change to have. It was surprisingly enjoyable and serene.

The house they lived in wasn't anything extravagant. It had enough room for them to feel the space and have over a few guests. It was relatively close to the open ocean and had a nice backyard meant for relaxation and gardening. The environment was comforting. It wasn't loud, if anything… it even seemed a bit too quiet. Itachi loved that fact – not only was it convenient that it was peaceful, but it was also an amazing fact that he could make Naruto 'scream' all night long without some neighbor coming over and complaining about the noise.

"Are you thinking about something perverted again?" Itachi gave Naruto an innocent look.

"Of course not. Why? Are you suggesting something?"

"Stop reversing this on me! It's you with that creepy glint in the eye not me!"

"Hm." _'Perhaps when we'll return home then.'_ Opening the doors to a grand estate, Itachi let Naruto enter first. After a long ride with a ship and then taxi, they had finally arrived to a bank in the central of London, where years ago Naruto had opened his safe deposit. And right now they were on a 'mission' to retrieve it.

…

As soon as the banker left them alone in the room with Naruto's retrieved safe deposit box placed on the table, Naruto took off his necklace and inserted the tip of the jewelry into the slot below the key lock.

Itachi was surprised. "It's a key?" At that time he couldn't have even imagined that the shaped pendant that Naruto was always so possessive of was actually a key that could open an iron case.

Inside were a small pile of personal documents (such as birth-certificates, passports), a gun, a few large bills of money, a weird soft green wallet shaped like a frog and in a side pocket lay an old photo. With a silent approval from Naruto's part, Itachi took the picture out. It was a family photo. A handsome sunny haired man (with great resemblance to Naruto) was sitting on the floor next to a kneeling beautiful redheaded woman (whose hair color rivaled Kyuubi's) and in their hands were two toddlers – Naruto and Kyuubi.

Naruto smiled at the photo. "Guess you could say _this_ is my greatest treasure. Those were my parents."

"You look just like your father." Keeping the image of a small Naruto in the back of his mind, Itachi carefully placed the picture back.

Naruto took out the froggy wallet and scaled it in his palm with a proud grin. Soft clicking sounds were heard inside.

Itachi gave a small laugh, concluding in his mind that such a childish wallet probably contained a number of marbles. However, once Naruto opened the wallet, Itachi's eyes literally glimmered. Inside were about 300 grams of 2carat diamonds, so white that it was blinding to look at them.

"Neat huh?" Naruto grinned proudly. "I guess three or four of these little rocks will be enough to cover our living for some time."

Itachi blinked his shock away. "I was certain this frog was just a toy from your childhood past."

"Then all the more reason to stuff it full with diamonds." Naruto winked.

Itachi inwardly cursed, but not from jealousy or greed. What actually troubled him was: how was he going to impress Naruto with a diamond ring if he already has like twenty of them?

'_Alright then. New approach it is!'_ thought Itachi with a 'challenge accepted' smirk.

…

10:41

_London, Hotel Nix_

On the next day, Itachi got the awaited visit from his friend. Opening the doors to their booked hotel room, he was greeted by a handsome man, who shared his height and complexity. His features however were a bit older and his dark hair was short and spiked. And another distinction to Itachi that always made itself known was the man's sly grin.

"Hello there. Long time no see. And I mean _really_ long time."

Itachi 'hn'-ed with a small smile of his own. "You've grown older, Shisui."

"And you've grown even prettier." Shisui teased while bating his eyelids.

Itachi's left eye twitched. "I've only seen you for a minute and already you're annoying me. Do you really want me to kill you so soon?"

Shisui pouted. "Still so cold, aren't you?"

Itachi rolled his eyes and opened the doors wide to let the man in.

Shisui dropped his backpack by his feet and popped himself into a nice cushioned chair. "I'm actually kind of hurt. Why would you choose to invite me to some random hotel and not to your new place? Surely you know I'm no spy."

"Naruto doesn't want others to know our location as of yet." simply explained Itachi and sat himself on the couch in front of the man.

"Naruto? Is he the guy who helped you escape? Wait. You're _living_ with him?!"

"I am."

"And you're just complying with his every bidding, huh? That's something new." Shisui had a good laugh at that. "Wow. You're wasted man. Did he charm you beyond recognition? Never thought someone was capable to do it? Is he human?"

Itachi huffed to himself at his friend's annoying comets and turned a disinterested glace outside the window. "As long as it's him, I have no problem with that."

Shisui opened his mouth to shot back a snide remark, but stopped as he caught a blond young man coming out of the bedroom. Shisui gave Naruto a once-over. His eyes drinking in the blond's long legs, thin waist, body that held all the appreciative looks in all the right places and finally those define features.

"I can see why."

Spotting the sudden change in his friend's voice had Itachi glaring at him and his possessive nature all out on full guard. "Keep those eyes sedated, Shisui."

"What? I'm just appreciating a perfect bod." Shisui was just about to rise from the chair and bestow the good-looking blond with his own way of greeting, when a sudden blade pierced itself against the chair between his legs, 'effectively' stopping his entire body from moving.

"Shisui, I didn't invite you here to molest my lover. Sit back down before I stab you for real."

A drop of sweat glided down Shisui's forehead. '_Ah, I forgot about his knifing skills.'_ "You're so cruel, Itachi." he pouted, but his lip quirked up as he whispered to his friend, "But damn man, he's a looker."

Sitting next to Itachi, Naruto smiled politely and outstretched his hand in greeting, "You must be Shisui. Itachi told me about you."

Shisui smirked and lightly squeezed the offered hand, "So I finally meet the crafty mastermind that has our Itachi all weak in the knees. Can't say I blame the man." a whisper of 'the lucky bastard' didn't go unheard by Naruto and Itachi. "I'm honored, Naruto-_chan_." pulling the hand closer to plant a kiss, Shisui yet again got interrupted by his uncharacteristically possessive friend.

"Shisui!"

"Alright _alright_, don't have a cow! I'll behave. Geez… how do you tolerate this guy?" Shisui gave Naruto a sympathetic look.

Itachi's eye twitched, he was moments away from snapping. It wasn't like he wasn't familiar with Shisui's 'overly-friendly' nature… it's just that whenever something like that was displayed around Naruto he couldn't help but let his possessiveness take over his being. "Did you bring what I asked?" he asked through his teeth.

Naruto took Itachi's hand and squeezed lightly, telling him silently to stop gritting his teeth so much.

"Sure sure." Digging inside his backpack, Shisui retrieved two converts. The first one was filled with large bills of money and the last one held a round necklace, a USB flash drive and a key.

Itachi took the small key and smiled at Naruto, "My key is more standard compared to yours." he explained. Naruto understood that it was a key from Itachi's safe deposit.

"Where's the safe?" asked Naruto.

"I opened it in France." said Shisui and tossed Itachi a new passport, "Guess you got yourself another journey ahead of you, _Mangekyou_-san."

Sure enough, upon opening the passport, Itachi found his photo with a fake surname – Mangekyou.

"I'm sure you two already forged fake passports on your own, but you'll need this one if you wish to retrieve the rest of your belongings, Itachi. Oh! Also, I left my shares next to your files there, for safe keeping while I was on business away. Bring them with you and give me a call once your back. I'd like to get them back."

Leaving the two men finish settling their business on their own, Naruto left to prepare a couple of drinks.

"I appreciate all your help, Shisui. Thank you for keeping this safe for me," said Itachi as he placed his belongings on the table.

"Forget it man. It was just a small favor." Shisui waved his hand dismissingly. "Though I won't deny your wish to repay me. Say, a chance to take your boyfriend out for a date, would be more than enough."

Itachi's smile crooked, "Yea, that's not happening. Ever."

…

22:31

After having a few drinks and chatting the day away, the three men soon registered that it had already become late and Shisui bid them goodnight.

"Your friend is nice." said Naruto after seeing Shisui off.

"If you ignore his perverted nature," added Itachi as an afterthought.

'_In that aspect, I think he's no different than you.'_ Naruto thought to himself, _'Although compared to him, you act perverted while he talks.'_ Sighing, Naruto then said, "I guess it'll be alright to tell him where we live, if you wish."

Itachi was confused by this quick acceptance. Naruto just met Shisui and already he's giving him this much trust? "What's going on? It's unusual for you to accept someone straight forward."

"Yes, well… the only reason I wanted to meet him with you was to confirm his face."

A thin dark eyebrow rose up. "His face?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and went to their bedroom. "Before his arrival I did a little snooping." Grabbing the laptop lying on the bed, Naruto opened it and showed Itachi the screen.

Itachi's eyes went through the scattered opened files that all had Shisui's pictures in them. Itachi looked at Naruto with a skeptic eye, "You call that little?"

Naruto closed the laptop with a pout, "I haven't even begun yet. And besides, knowing that he's your dear friend, I believe that if you trust him, then so should I."

Itachi smiled and kissed Naruto on the lips. "You're too cute. But to tell the truth, I would not mind keeping it a secret. The thought of no one disturbing our secret nest while I'm doing all sorts of dirty things to you does sound more than just appealing." Itachi tipped Naruto's neck and bit it gently, kissing and sucking it just enough to get all those sweet sounds out of Naruto's mouth.

"Itachi… we should… mmm… we should go to sleep." breathed Naruto, squirming as Itachi's hands went under his shirt, leaving desirable fiery touches all around his body. "We have an early ride… tomorrow."

"I'd rather you have an _early ride_ with me right now."

"Hentai."

"Saiai." Itachi captured Naruto's delicious lips and pushed him into the bed. He proceeded to 'make a mess' out of Naruto all night long.

…

14:16

_Konoha prison_

It's been three months since the breakout of four escapees was declared officially. Through that time the authorities had dropped a bomb upon Konoha prison. System was undergoing a complete renovation. A thorough inspection of the entire building was taken – starting from an entire security check (both inside and outside) till the testing of each possession an inmate held. And with it came imported changes that turned the entire order upside down. Security and guard duties doubled. The gang population suffered the fate of being watched 24/7. Each inmate was subjected to strict inspection two or four times a month.

Orochimaru smirked as he kept a close eye on every pissed off inmate that wondered the cellblock or has just returned from another inspection. While some hated the new order it wasn't anything that they couldn't get by; from his point of view it felt nice to have a change for once… Or perhaps he was just too ignorant to care right now.

Today was actually the day that Orochimaru waited ever since he heard of Naruto's successful escape. The sly brat actually kept his word and arranged him a meeting with his uncle.

"Long time no see, _old friend_." said Orochimaru with a wide smirk as he sat in front of his visitor Jiraiya Sennin.

"Aa. And I can't say I missed ya that much, hahaha." joked the man that stood out most in the room with his flashy clothes and long wild mane. "How you've been ya tricky old snake?"

"Can't complain. I see years were good to you. You haven't changed that much. If anything, you seem to sparkle more than ever."

"What's this now? Jealous of a great man such as myself? Though I do understand. Sometimes I envy myself too…"

"Not at all." smirked Orochimaru, linking his fingers together, "If anything I'm relieved. However one thing does bother me. That ring on your finger."

"Oooh! You noticed?" a wide grin took half of Jiraiya's face and he showed Orochimaru his wedding ring. "How 'bout it? You thought I could never pull it off with a woman. Hah! Take that!"

"And who's the unfortunate soul?"

"Tsunade. Wait! What the hell do you mean _unfortunate_!?"

Orochimaru shivered at the name. He did remember that woman. A fearsome person she was, unless you got on her good side. "Did she lose a bet against you? Or was it just pity that took her to accept your proposal while she was drunk?"

A vein popped on Jiraiya's forehead. "Don't you doubt my manly charms!"

"As fun as it is to have a good laugh with you… I'm sure you're aware that I didn't summon you here just to reminisce."

"Ah! That's right! Thanks to you and your big mouth, Naruto gave me quite a lashing." Jiraiya rolled his eyes as he recalled the time Naruto came to him and started blowing his ears off, suddenly demanding an explanation of his and Orochimaru's relationship.

"Young people are most curious, especially if you keep them in the dark. It's inevitable." Orochimaru dismissed the whining man with a hand. "And it's your own fault."

Coughing lightly, Jiraiya crossed his arms and took on a serious face, "Alright, enough fooling around. How about it? What is it you want?"

Orochimaru's sinister smile was already warning Jiraiya of bad news. "Simple. I want out of here."

"Huh? Huh! HUH!?" Jiraiya's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "What the fu-…" covering his loud mouth from the guards' ears, Jiraiya shot his smiling companion a twitching glare. "If you wanted out of here, why didn't you act when my nephew…?"

The other casually shook his shoulders. "Ah, I wanted to have _you_ work for my freedom."

"The hell are you spouting?"

"Honestly Jiraiya, what fun would an escape prove, if I could just ask you to free me legally? You're not called for no reason. And did you forget? You do owe me a great favor."

Jiraiya slumped in his seat. "I knew this meeting wasn't going to bring me anything good." Jiraiya was quite a famous person in Japan. And it wasn't just because of his artistic skills that come with writing perverted books. But he was also a very formidable person, whose words could influence and change an entire case of any fugitive called. Unfortunately his power could not work in Pain's or his sons' favor – such situation could only lead him to his death, but that was a completely different story. Orochimaru however was another case. "That's a high price to pay, Orochimaru. I might be putting my reputation on the line here, you know."

"For that you can thank your "passionate" students." _'Or more specifically that maniac who calls himself Pain.'_ Orochimaru just smiled at Jiraiya's tear-streaking face. "Saa… shall we start by discussing necessary preparations?"

…

09:35

_Back in Guernsey_

Itachi looked up from his coffee as the doorbell rang, his eyebrow raised. _'Did Kyuubi finally master the doorbell?' _Somehow whenever the redhead had an urge to visit them, he either entered the house like a ghost without telling them how he even did that or called them before on the phone informing of his visit and then entered like he owned the place anyway.

Opening the doors, Itachi was surprised that instead of the expected redhead he was met with his friend. "Shisui? You're two days early. Why are you here? The least you could do is call."

The man closed his eyes and flashed Itachi an all too familiar grin, "Come on, that would've just ruined the surprise. Plus, I couldn't help but wish to see your house as soon as I could. It was a lovely surprise to receive a message with your address encrypted in it. Is that pretty blond of yours ready to accept me into the family?"

"Your pondering curiosity was never your strong point." Itachi sighed. "Naruto knows that I trust you."

"Aw Itachi. You're making me blush. It's so hard being admired." Shisui teased him while flipping his short hair all 'fabulously'.

Itachi just rolled his eyes. "Since you're already here, I guess I can give you back those shares. Come in. Take off your shoes. And wait me in the kitchen."

As Itachi disappeared around the corner, a door to one of the rooms upstairs opened. Shisui looked up as he heard soft footsteps following. He let out a whistle as he saw Naruto coming down the stairs with nothing but his pants on.

Naruto stopped ruffling his hair dry and looked towards the entrance. "Shisui? I didn't know you'd be coming over."

"Neither did I." Shisui flashed Naruto a charming grin and met him at the foot of the stairs. "But it's nice to see you again, Naruto-_chan_. Especially looking like _this_." Showing appreciation for the display, Shisui pulled Naruto closer to give him a kiss on his hand when suddenly he heard a clicking sound behind him.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Naruto jumped at the sudden shadowed figure appearing behind Itachi's friend but then sighed in aggravation. He should have known… it was his brother Kyuubi.

Shisui turned his head over his shoulder and gulped when his eyes met a barrel of a gun. "Umm… I suddenly have a difficult time remembering."

"Kyuubi, put your gun down. He's Itachi's friend. I know him."

Cocking an eyebrow, Kyuubi pulled the gun away and kicked the entrance door shut. "Is Susanoo home?"

"Yeah, he's around."

"Great. Then he can tend to his friend alone. Come, I have something to tell you." Brushing past the still shocked Shisui, he pulled his brother up the stairs and into a room, closing the door shut.

At the same time Itachi reemerged from the living room with the found documents that belonged to Shisui. "Here. I believe this is all of them?" Looking up at the silent man who was staring at the second floor, Itachi frowned. "What's with you? Seen a ghost?"

"Itachi. Who the hell points a fucking gun at a guest?"

Itachi stared at Shisui perplexed until he finally understood what the man was most likely talking about. "Ah. You met his brother, huh?" He knew that Kyuubi was coming today for a visit, he had called prior. And the gun was no doubt involved only because Shisui was doing something inappropriate to Naruto, which suddenly had Itachi glaring at his friend as well.

"Shisui. What were you doing to Naruto while I wasn't around?"

Now feeling freaked out, Shisui shot his hands up in defense. "Nothing, I swear!"

"Shisui, if you so much as thought of doing anything perverse to him, I'm going to ring your neck."

"My god man! Can you get any _more_ possessive?! Though I have to admit, he does have a nice tattoo on that smooth tummy. OUCH! THE HELL!? MY FACE!"

The overly possessive man had punched Shisui in the face.

…

"You're no better than Kyuubi, Itachi." Naruto scolded Itachi while he nursed Shisui's bleeding nose in the kitchen.

Itachi just scuffled, glaring at Shisui who was having a day of his life, as he had a beautiful blond fussing all over him in concern. In the end, that punch was so worth it. "You're so nice to me, Naru-chan."

Naruto smiled and suddenly pinched Shisui's broken nose. The man yelped and shielded his poor nose with his hands. "WHY?!" he looked at the blond with wide betrayed eyes.

"Don't call me _chan_." said Naruto with that dark smile. And for a while that was enough to have Shisui quiet and behaved.

Itachi sighed at his friend's antics before he turned his attention to the scowling redhead. "De? What brings you here today, Kyuubi?"

"I wanted to make sure my brother's well taken care of."

Itachi's brows narrowed at that statement, _'Would it kill you to trust me a bit?'_

"Bwahahaha… Itachi, what's going on? Having problems with your future _brother-in-law_?"

Both Itachi and Kyuubi snapped at Shisui simultaneously, "Huh?! Who the hell asked for your opinion?"

Shisui flinched in fear and grabbed for Naruto. "Save me."

"Anyway. That wasn't the only reason I came here for. There is something I wish to inform you about as well, Susanoo." said Kyuubi. Itachi cast a questioning glance at Naruto, who he noticed had stilled for a moment before resuming on helping Shisui with his bleeding nose. Curious like no other, Shisui's ears perked up.

"It's about Madara Uchiha."

…

_Two days ago _

_22:33_

_Italy_

_Madara's breath was rigid, his heart slamming against his ribcage nonstop. He couldn't believe what was happening. Not to mention his complete bafflement upon what's going on. It all happened so fast that all he could do was run and hide. He was being attacked. And from what was obvious it wasn't the police. The entrance doors of his house had been blasted open, and the next thing he knew, bullets and explosives were shot and thrown at him and his men from an unknown assailant. Clutching his gun tight to his chest, he peered behind the desk he had found refuge in._

_Another exchange of shots was heard followed by agonizing yells and groans of the falling men – his men. His base was being completely demolished – furniture, glass, his property all was breaking and shattering against the impact of bullets or heavily punched bodies. _

_He quickly hid himself back as something broke through the glassed doors of his room and came rolling next to his desk. His eyes widened. "Shit!" It was a grenade. Jumping to his feet, he ran for his life. Barely making it to a safe corner, Madara closed his eyes and covered his ears as the detonation occurred. Half of the room shattered to pieces and a large hole blasted itself through the wall. Shattered pieces and concrete flew about, arising smoke and heat. The damaged water pipes broke and started leaking water everywhere, extinguishing fire and rising steam. _

_Creeping slowly through the created wall in the room, Madara held his gun ready in front of himself. 'What the fuck is going on? Who the hell…' "AHH! FUCK!" Suddenly he felt a horrible pain in his ankle and he fell to the ground. He was shot in the ankle. He couldn't fucking believe it, he had already been shot in his legs not too long ago._

"_BITCH!" grabbing his gun, he quickly crawled away from the hall and supported himself against the wall. His eyes caught the lying bodies of his killed men, their blood smearing all around his carpeted floor. "The fuck is going on?! HEY! ENOUGH! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" that shout was answered by more bullets that fired at him and pierced against the wall over his head. Madara stumbled out of the way and dashed/limped towards the stairs. Grabbing a gun from one of his dead men, Madara held the guns ready in outstretched hands, guarding his vulnerable sides as he slowly went down._

_He stilled his rushed breathing as he heard footsteps. But he couldn't tell from which direction they were coming from; his ears were still ringing after that explosion. Suddenly, spotting a black figure from the left corner of his eye, Madara panicked and shot at it. The figure stilled before falling to the ground in a heap. Smirking in accomplishment, Madara limped towards his assailant. "Yeah, that's right you asshole. I got you." However, it wasn't the attacker; it was one of his own men. "Shit! Shit shit shit." Searching about frantically, Madara waved his guns around in an empty search; he was standing in the open. "Fuck, you bastard! SHOW YOURSELF!"_

"_Right here."_

"_Wha?!" Madara jerked his head towards the opened doors of a dark room, right in front of him, and pulled his guns up. He wasn't fast enough. The assailant shot him in the lung. Madara grabbed for his shot side and raised his gun once more but the gun was punched out of his hand and the next thing he knew he was kicked in the chest and was falling from the second floor. He gasped as his he collided with the cold titled floor, a string of blood coming down from the corner of his mouth. _

_The assailant jumped over the railings and landed next to the fallen escapee. Seeing the man try and reach for his fallen gun, the assailant stepped on Madara's hand and kneeled over him. Madara stopped struggling as the cold edge of a gun was pressed under his chin. His eyes turned to look at his attacker. It was a man, probably his age with pale skin, wild orange hair, light-steel-blue eyes and a lot of piercings in his ears. Madara's eyes widened in recognition, he had heard of this punk once, but it was a long time ago. A wanted man who held little no title, but was respected between the crime lords for his mastery and proficiency as an assassin and a man who could never be caught. A selfish bastard who didn't know the meaning of trust, partnership or boundaries. He lived and acted for himself alone and never took a job unless it concerned him or his interests personally. But if that were the case then what could he possibly want from him? Madara never did anything to him._

"_I thought you were a selfish piece of shit who never troubles to lift a finger unless it's personal. I'm curious. What have I done to deserve the attention of this "legendary" assassin?"_

_Pain frowned at the man's words. He cared not how much he respected him or how deeply he despised him. Standing back on his full legs, Pain aimed the gun at Madara's forehead. "You dared injure my son."_

'_Son? He has a son?' If Madara was confused at first, he wasn't anymore. 'Wait… it can't be…' And Pain knew that just by looking at his expression. _

"_Na-…"_

_Pain fired. _

…

Itachi shuddered slightly. Their father was truly a man that screamed sinister and deadly in one blend.

Naruto sighed lightly. "Is dad okay?"

Kyuubi huffed, "Why shouldn't he be?" He felt a bit pouty, because his father beat him to it and took care of Madara before they even found him. "That kill better had been worth it. I bet he hadn't had a good adrenalin rush for some years now. No doubt he was enjoying every moment of it, that old jerk."

Naruto nudged his brother in the shoulder, trying to cheer him up. "Our old man hasn't rusted in the least, has he?" He smirked at his brother, who grinned back in full.

Itachi and Shisui exchanged disturbed looks. It wasn't common to hear someone talk so excitedly over somebody's murdering sills. _'Then again, it is their father we're talking about. The most important person in their lives… and so far the most protective.' _Itachi thought to himself with a found smile. _'And it's not like I can't relate to them. My life's been no saner.'_

Shisui rubbed his chin in philosophic thought, "So many skeletons in your closets, you lot."

"Please, as if you're any different." commented Itachi.

"Oi!"

"I'm going to head out to a store. We're out of food." closing the refrigerator, Naruto silently recalled all the items he'd have to buy.

"I'll accompany you. You never buy enough. And I'm starving." said Kyuubi.

"That's because you vacuum everything we have during your visits! Sometimes I think you come here just to stuff your face." Naruto scolded his brother.

"I only come once or twice a month!" Kyuubi defended himself.

"And that's _enough_!"

Itachi sighed at yet another brotherly argument between the twins. Somehow it was becoming a thing during these parts. Turning his attention back to his friend, Itachi arched a brow as he suddenly caught something intriguing. His friend was boldly checking out Naruto's brother.

"If you expect me to feed you, Kyuubi, you're going to have to pay for everything." Naruto gave Itachi a quick kiss goodbye. "We'll be back soon."

"Most likely before midnight," Kyuubi added snidely.

"Shut it!" Naruto pushed Kyuubi outside the door.

Shisui waved absentmindedly. Itachi looked at his friend and smirked, "I saw that."

"Huh? What? I a… I don't know what you mean man." Shisui laughed nervously under Itachi's intense stare. His friend was giving him that all knowing look, making him feel like an open book. "I was just looking…"

"At Kyuubi's butt." Itachi finished for him.

"Exactly. Wait! NO, I WASN'T!"

"…"

"… Okay, maybe a little."

…

11:12

The next morning woke Naruto and Itachi up with a loud bang. A scream and a shout came bursting from the bathroom. Yesterday Kyuubi and Shisui had ended up staying overnight and from the looks of it, had tangled themselves into a 'sticky situation'. Or from the sounds of it, Kyuubi couldn't seem to know how to deal with the other's perverse approaches other than with violence.

"Oh come on! It's not like I've seen anything new there!" Shisui defended himself. "We're both male, right?"

"Seen or not, you dare enter the shower while _I'm_ using it, sukebei!"

"Suke-what?"

"I'll freakin' slaughter you!"

"GHAAA! Itachiiiiiii! HEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

Moaning in disbelieve, Itachi just rolled back into the bed and hugged Naruto's warm tummy. No way was he leaving the warm embrace of his lover.

Naruto flinched in concerned as he heard another section of their newly bought furniture getting smashed along with that pretty vase he thought fitted the interior. "He's gonna destroy the house!"

"We'll send him a bill afterwards," Itachi mumbled sleepily.

Naruto frowned at his boyfriend. "Do you honestly have no concern over your friend? Kyuubi's gonna kill him."

"Mhmm…"

"I mean it!"

"Relax. Shisui can handle himself just fine."

Hearing desperate shouts for help, Naruto was not convinced. He pinched his lover's nose. "Late mornings are spoiling you, lazyass. Are you trying to turn all Shikamaru on me now?"

Itachi opened his one eye, "I doubt morning is the actual cause here." Naruto jumped as he suddenly felt hands pinch and fondle his ample cheeks. "All I need is a cute warm blond to have me all contained and lulled. And that's only before an upcoming events that shall arouse me in more ways than one."

"Pervert."

"Only for you." Smirking, Itachi loomed over his lover and kissed him deeply and lovingly. His hands felt the soft texture of that wild bright hair and those soft perfect cheeks Naruto always hid under his jeans. Naruto moaned wantonly and buried his finders in Itachi's loose hair, gripping it tight to bring his lover closer and into a deeper kiss. A kiss that was quick to turn passionate could have actually taken them further if not for a sudden shot from a gun in their house.

"FUCK!" breaking the passionate contact, Naruto was already out of the room and dashing down the stairs. He recognized that deadly sound anywhere. "KYUUBI! NO!"

Itachi was not happy… not at all. Rising himself slowly out of the bed, he grabbed a hair-tie for his hair and quietly followed after his disappeared lover.

"DEAR LORD! ARE YOU ACTUALLY SHOOTING AT ME NOW!?" Shisui was scared to come out of his hiding spot under the table.

"Trust me, shooting you would be an act of kindness."

"Kyuubi!" Naruto tackled his brother to the floor. "Are you out of your mind!?"

'_Oh thank you, Naruto-chan!'_ Shisui shed a joyful tear of relief. He was saved.

"You can't shoot in my house! What if neighbors hear!?"

"Is that all that concerns you!?" Shisui was shedding tears of pain now.

"I wouldn't have the need to shoot him if he wasn't this perverse." Kyuubi growled in argument. "And no one will hear, I have the silencer on."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I understand that you see him as a… perverted, foulmouthed cretin, but he's Itachi's friend."

"And by the way, doors to the bathroom weren't locked." Shisui supplied while peeking over the table. "I had no idea you were there, I swear!"

"Oh… And I suppose that gives him an excuse to do as he pleases? Including grabbing my ass?"

Naruto blinked before he shot Shisui an accusing glare. "You did _what_?!"

"Ah yes… a heavenly accident that was," Shisui drooled at the memorized sight of a naked redhead he stumbled upon posing suggestively while cleaning his hair under those lucky drops of water licking at his body oh so temptingly… that is before he snapped out of his fantasies and came back to the cruel reality. "No! I mean…"

"I will make an _accident_ out of you, right now!" threatened Kyuubi.

Naruto couldn't agree more. "Don't let me stop you."

"Wait! Why does it suddenly turn out like this!?" Backing away from the raging twins, Shisui flinched as he bumped against Itachi.

He would have sighed in relieve if not for that threatening aura he was feeling coming from Itachi in waves. Turning his head around, Shisui wasn't as surprised as he was scared to conform that it was indeed Itachi towering over him, a killer look in his eye. "Shisui… You. Ruined. Everything."

Forget it! Shisui was already running. There was no way he was going to face Itachi now. He knew how dangerous an unsatisfied man could be, and from the looks of it, Itachi looked _very_ _unsatisfied_. Fuck curiosity, he wasn't going to stick around to find out how much of a threat one sex-deprived _Itachi_ could be.

… … …

* * *

_A/N_

_Finally, I'm approaching the end. I guess it'll take just one more chapter & that will be the end of this story :)_

_Thanks to all who are still reading this story. It's been almost four years now since I began this ;)) _

_& a huge thanks to you: _jayjay jin, TigrezzTail, Manga Ren, baka36411, Narutopokefan, AnjoRemix, the-darker-side-of-things, Dimensional Roamer, krazylittlekat, Conflicted Soul, Arfa, lovleydragonfly, dawn chase & brokenfromthepast! ;))


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